Gorro Rubio
🇦🇲
- Location
- Hampstead, UK/Alicante, ES
- Pronouns
- he/him
Nowadays, Ken Livingstone’s legacy is severely tarnished by his bigoted comments about the Jewish community, but 15 years ago he was one of the most popular and powerful politicians in the country, a man who was able to defeat the two main major parties in an important election running as an independent candidate and, for better or worse, the embodiment of Noughties London.
After losing the 2008 Mayoral election, he ran again in 2012 against Boris Johnson. He was defeated again, but Johnson only polled less than 4% more than him. If he had been able to overcome such difference, what would the current state of British politics? Would a defeated Johnson go back to obscurity? He was arguably instrumental in the victory of the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum on remaining on the EU. Could his election loss have avoided Brexit? And also, on the Labour side of things, would Ed Miliband’s leadership become stronger after a narrow win in the capital? It appears that by 2012 Livingstone had no higher ambitions, but being the Mayor of London he would undoubtedly be talked as a potential successor to Miliband. Last but not least, what effect would his victory have on the Labour left?
After losing the 2008 Mayoral election, he ran again in 2012 against Boris Johnson. He was defeated again, but Johnson only polled less than 4% more than him. If he had been able to overcome such difference, what would the current state of British politics? Would a defeated Johnson go back to obscurity? He was arguably instrumental in the victory of the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum on remaining on the EU. Could his election loss have avoided Brexit? And also, on the Labour side of things, would Ed Miliband’s leadership become stronger after a narrow win in the capital? It appears that by 2012 Livingstone had no higher ambitions, but being the Mayor of London he would undoubtedly be talked as a potential successor to Miliband. Last but not least, what effect would his victory have on the Labour left?