Ken Livingstone

Ken Livingstone at the World Economic Forum in Davos (2008)

Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone (born June 17, 1945 in Tulse Hill , London ) is a British politician (formerly Labor Party ). From 2000 to 2008 he was the first directly elected Mayor of London . He was previously Chairman of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 to 1986 and a Member of the House of Commons from 1987 to 2001 . His nickname is "Red Ken" (Roter Ken) because of his strong left politics . He counts himself among the democratic socialists and is considered one of the most colorful political figures in the country.

Livingstone joined the Labor Party in 1968 and was elected to the GLC in 1973. As chairman of the GLC, he campaigned for lower fares on London's public transport from 1981, but his actions were challenged in court and declared invalid. He was more successful with support programs for women and minorities, despite strong opposition. Livingstone was a vocal opponent of the policies of Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , which led to the dissolution of the GLC in 1986. He stood in the 1987 general election and was elected in the Brent East constituency. Livingstone ran unsuccessfully for chairmanship of the Labor Party and criticized the party's new centrist course ("New Labor").

Livingstone ran successfully in the first London mayoral elections in 2000, against the declared will of Prime Minister Tony Blair . He ran as an independent candidate, which had led to his temporary exclusion from the party. During his first term in office, he reorganized London's transportation system. Despite his rejection of British participation in the Iraq war , he was re-elected in 2004 and secured re-election. In 2008 and 2012 he also ran, but was defeated both times by the conservative Boris Johnson , whereupon he withdrew from politics. In 2018 he was expelled from the Labor Party indefinitely for statements criticized as anti-Semitic .

Private life

Ken Livingstone is the son of variety dancer Ethel Ada Kennard (1915–1997) and Robert Moffat Livingstone (1915–1971) from Scotland , who worked as the captain of fishing boats and ferries in the English Channel . He has a sister named Lin, two and a half years his junior. Livingstone referred to his parents as " working class Tories, " but they were unusually tolerant and condemned racism and homophobia. Since his youth his hobby has been keeping and breeding newts .

After completing his compulsory school years, Livingstone worked from 1962 to 1970 as a technician in Chester Beatty's cancer research laboratory in Fulham , where he was responsible for the laboratory animals. Most of the technicians employed there were socialists so he helped set up a section of the union for scientific and technical workers. In particular, he resisted the reduction of jobs by management. Together with a work colleague he traveled through West Africa in 1966 ; he visited Algeria , Niger , Nigeria , Ghana and Togo . After his return he took part in various protest marches against the Vietnam War, which further increased his interest in politics.

In September 1970, Livingstone began a three-year training course as a teacher, which he considered a "total waste of time". He never got around to doing this job later. In 1973 he married Christine Pamela Chapman, the president of the student council at the teachers' college in Streatham . The marriage ended in divorce in 1982. Around this time he began a relationship with Kate Allen, who would later become director of the UK section of Amnesty International ; the couple separated in November 2001. His current partner is Emma Beal, who was his office manager at the time. They have a son and a daughter together. A son and two daughters come from previous relationships, the existence of which was only revealed during the mayoral campaign in 2008. Livingstone and Beal married in September 2009.

Local Politics (1968–1986)

In March 1968 Livingstone joined the Labor Party . He rose quickly in the local chapter and within a month became chairman of the Young Socialists of Norwood. He benefited from the fact that the number of members fell at that time and hardly any new young members came up. The reasons for this were the support of the then Labor administration of Harold Wilson for the Vietnam War , budget cuts at the National Health Service and restrictions on trade unions, which drove younger voters to parties on the far left. Livingstone believed that grassroots movements like the 1968 movement were ineffective and that by joining the party, he could better contribute to bringing about progressive political change.

In May 1971 Livingstone was elected to the council of the London Borough of Lambeth , in which he was vice-chairman of the committee for public housing. He himself was not a supporter of Marxism , but linked up with Trotskyist groups within the party, seeing them as useful allies. In the elections to the Greater London Council (GLC) on April 12, 1973 Livingstone won in the constituency of Norwood. The Labor Group, led by Reginald Goodwin , had a comfortable majority of 58 seats in the GLC, compared to 32 from the Conservative Party and 2 from the Liberal Party . 16 of the Labor MPs, including Livingstone, were left wing. He remained a member of the Lambeth Council and resigned in December 1973 as vice-chairman of the Social Housing Commission.

Within the Labor group in the GLC, Livingstone was considered a radical troublemaker and was therefore given the relatively unimportant position of vice-chairman of the committee for the examination of the rating of films. With increasing support from the left, he was elected to the Executive of the Labor Party of Greater London in March 1974 , which was responsible for the election program and lists of candidates for council and parliamentary seats. He then took over the vice-chairmanship of the GLC Committee on Social Housing Management, but was fired in April 1975 for rejecting the austerity measures proposed by Goodwin. Before the May 5, 1977 elections, Livingstone realized that he was unlikely to be able to defend his seat in Norwood. Instead, he set up in the far safer constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington . Although he was faced with the accusation of being a careerist, after the elections he was one of the few representatives of the left Labor wing in the GLC, which now owned a majority of the Conservative Party.

Livingstone then moved to West Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden . In view of the upcoming general election, the local club determined him in June 1977 as a candidate for the constituency of Hampstead, where he beat Vince Cable . In 1978 he was elected to the Camden Council, where he chaired the Social Housing Commission. Weakened by the Winter of Discontent , the Labor government of James Callaghan suffered a major defeat in the 1979 general election . Livingstone was also unsuccessful because the Hampstead constituency was firmly in conservative hands.

Inspired by Tony Benn , another figurehead of the left wing, Livingstone tried in April 1980 to overthrow the moderate Andrew McIntosh as Labor group leader in the GLC. McIntosh just had the upper hand with 14-13 votes, but had been significantly weakened. In the GLC elections on May 7, 1981, the Labor Party won a slim majority. Livingstone had set up in the Paddington constituency and was elected there despite a fierce counter-campaign by conservative newspapers. Just a day later, he challenged McIntosh. With the votes of the more organized left wing, the parliamentary group elected him as the new chairman of the GLC. The Daily Mail called Livingstone a dangerous left-wing extremist, The Sun nicknamed him Red Ken, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher warned that people like Livingstone were intent on imposing the tyranny of the peoples of Eastern Europe on Britain.

Chairman of the Greater London Council (1981–1986)

County Hall, seat of the Greater London Council

Livingstone immediately revoked numerous privileges for GLC MPs and senior officials. He allowed citizens to dine in the MPs' restaurant and free use of the boardrooms for meetings, giving County Hall the nickname People's Palace . The British media tried to portray Livingstone in the worst possible light. Kelvin MacKenzie, editor of The Sun, put together a team of reporters to "bring the dirt to light." However, the reporters failed to expose any scandals, so they limited themselves to his fondness for reptiles. Private Eye made the claim that Livingstone was funded by Libya . He sued the satirical magazine for defamation and received out of court compensation of £ 15,000 in November 1983.

One of the main pillars of the 1981 election manifesto was the Fares Fair program . The aim was to lower the fares for London Underground and buses and keep them permanently at a lower level. This was intended to encourage Londoners to use the tube more often, which was expected to reduce traffic congestion. Tariffs were reduced by 32% in October 1981, financed by an increase in property taxes. The Conservative-led administration of the London Borough of Bromley challenged the measure in court, as the residents of this borough would have to co-finance the lower fares without benefiting from it (there are no subways in Bromley). An appellate court ruled the plaintiffs on November 10th. The GLC then went to the highest authority, the House of Lords . Five lord judges unanimously declared Fares Fair unlawful on December 17, 1981.

Livingstone's administration was vehemently in favor of nuclear disarmament and declared London a nuclear-free zone . She also sought to help disadvantaged people in London, including women, the disabled, homosexuals and ethnic minorities (the so-called "Rainbow Coalition"). The GLC used part of the budget to financially support self-help groups and activists. She hoped that this would bring about social change. Believing that the Metropolitan Police was a racist organization, Livingstone installed Paul Boateng as chairman of the regulator. The Conservatives and part of the press saw these measures as typical of what they disparagingly referred to as the loony left . Their criticism was often racist, homophobic and sexist. In July 1981 Livingstone, a staunch supporter of a republican state order, turned down the invitation to the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer . He also allowed Irish Republicans to hold a vigil on the steps of County Hall during the wedding ceremony. Both earned him a lot of criticism from the press. In January 1982 he provoked Thatcher's government by putting up a billboard with the current unemployment figures on the roof of County Hall - within sight of Westminster Palace .

Further provocations were the proclamation of an "anti-fascist year", the support of peace organizations and expressions of solidarity for the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro . The greatest affront was the invitation of Sinn Féin leaders Gerry Adams and Danny Morrison in December 1982. Since they had been banned from entering London under an anti-terror law, Livingstone met them instead in Belfast in February 1983 . After that meeting, he said the Irish had been treated worse than the Jews under Adolf Hitler under British rule for 800 years . This statement made him a potential target for the loyalists: In 2003, Michael Stone revealed in his autobiography that the Ulster Defense Association had planned to assassinate Livingstone. Stone should have carried out the attack himself, but refrained from doing so because he felt he was being followed by the security authorities.

After the general election in 1983 , the Conservative government put more and more obstacles in the way of the GLC. Numerous subsidies were cut and in June 1984 parliament passed a law that provided for the abolition of the GLC. Livingstone and three other councilors resigned in protest on August 2, 1984, forcing by -elections , which were supposed to have the character of a referendum. The Conservatives did not nominate a single candidate. This led to a very low turnout so that the campaign ultimately failed. The GLC was dissolved on March 31, 1986, its competencies were partly transferred to the individual London Boroughs and partly to the central government. In commemoration, Livingstone held a free concert at the Royal Festival Hall that day .

Livingstone in the House of Commons (1987-2000)

Livingstone was a candidate in the general election on June 11, 1987 and was elected MP for the constituency of Brent East by around 1,600 votes . He found the atmosphere in parliament depressing. He stated that it was similar to working in a natural history museum, except that not all of the exhibits were stuffed. Relations with the Labor Group were characterized by hostility. Livingstone's role in the House of Commons was limited to that of a backbencher , as his radical socialism found less and less support within the party. The Labor Party moved more and more towards the center under Neil Kinnock . The exponents of the left wing, of which Livingstone was a member, were held responsible for the party's “ineligibility”. Although he was elected to the party executive committee in September 1987, he was replaced by John Prescott in October 1989 .

In the general election on April 9, 1992 Livingstone was able to expand its majority in his constituency by ten percent. Tony Blair , who became the new party chairman in 1994, wanted to lead the Labor Party further to the center under the slogan “ New Labor ” and thus make it attractive to new groups of voters. For Peter Mandelson , people like Livingstone were considered "enemies" of the reforms. In 1995, he fought in vain against Blair's attempts to remove the traditional goal of nationalizing industry from the party constitution, as he viewed this as a betrayal of the Labor Party's socialist roots. In 1996, he warned of the growing influence of spin doctors and called for the dismissal of Blair's communications advisor, Alastair Campbell . Blair's reforms resulted in an overwhelming victory in the general election on May 1, 1997 . Livingstone was re-elected as MP for Brent East , with 67.5% of the vote. In March 1998, he publicly criticized Treasury Secretary Gordon Brown for saying "a lot of thatcheristic nonsense" and wanting to privatize the London Underground. Despite the increasing lack of support, he succeeded in 1997 to be re-elected to the party executive at Mandelson's expense.

In addition to his parliamentary work, Livingstone exercised some "part-time jobs". He was a contestant and host of game shows , speaker at banquets and restaurant critic for the Evening Standard newspaper . He appeared on the satirical show Have I Got News for You a total of seven times , demonstrating his comedic talent. In 1995 he contributed a few words to the song Ernold Same on the album The Great Escape by Blur .

Controversial election (2000)

Part of the election manifesto of the new Labor government included strengthening local authorities. In London, the Greater London Authority (GLA) was to be created, consisting of a directly elected Mayor of London and a new city parliament ( London Assembly ). A similar scope of competencies was envisaged as with the earlier GLC. The new administrative structure was approved in a referendum on May 7, 1998 with 72% of the vote. Livingstone had announced its intention to run for mayor two months earlier. Blair disliked this because, in his opinion, Livingstone was one of those "socialist relics" who "almost rode the party into the abyss" in the 1980s. The Blair wing organized an internal smear campaign against Livingstone to ensure that he would not be run as a candidate. After Mo Mowlam's resignation , Frank Dobson was proposed as an official candidate.

Although Livingstone received the most votes in the party vote on February 20, 2000, Dobson was chosen as a candidate. Dobson benefited from a controversial electoral system in which the votes of members of the lower house and the European Parliament were weighted much more heavily than those of ordinary party members. Livingstone called Dobson a "depraved candidate" and declared on March 6th, contrary to promises made earlier, that he would run as an independent and thus run against him. He was forced to choose "between the party I love and the defense of the democratic rights of Londoners". A few weeks later, on April 4th, the party expelled him.

Livingstone won the election of the Mayor of London on May 4, 2000 by a large margin. Official Labor candidate Dobson had shown little enthusiasm throughout the campaign and ended up in a disappointing third place. He did even worse than short-term substitute Conservative candidate Steven Norris (the original candidate Jeffrey Archer was charged with perjury during the campaign and was later convicted). Livingstone's election victory was a major personal defeat for Prime Minister Blair.

London's first mayor (2000-2004)

City Hall

As mayor, Livingstone had a great deal of power. His main responsibilities included overseeing a number of subordinate agencies such as the Police, Fire Brigade, Urban Development Agency and Transport for London . His office was initially located temporarily on Marsham Street in Westminster , while a building specifically for the GLA, City Hall , was built in Southwark . Queen Elizabeth II opened the building in July 2002; Livingstone said that the shape reminded him of a "glass testicle". The first two years he mainly used to build up the administration. He also fought vehemently against the plans of the Labor government to finance the modernization of the subway through Public Private Partnership (PPP). He was convinced that PPP was too expensive and would ultimately lead to complete privatization. Together with the chairman of Transport for London appointed by him, Bob Kiley , he took legal action against PPP, but was unsuccessful.

Livingstone converted part of Trafalgar Square into a pedestrian zone, which led to a significant upgrade of the square. Against the opposition of numerous shopkeepers, in January 2003 he also pushed through the introduction of the London Congestion Charge to reduce motorized traffic in the city center. Contrary to many prognoses, the measure proved to be a success. Because of this achievement, the Political Studies Association named him "Politician of the Year". Four years later, Transport for London announced that traffic in the city center had been reduced by 20%. To further promote public transport, Livingstone introduced the Oyster Card in 2003 and made the use of buses and subways free of charge for young people aged 11 to 18.

Protest stickers against the London Congestion Charge introduced by Ken Livingstone

In 2002 Livingstone supported the idea that London should apply to host the 2012 Summer Olympics . However, he insisted that the games take place predominantly in the neglected East End and should be used for urban renewal in the Lea Valley . With the support of Tessa Jowell , he convinced the government in May 2003 to support the project as well. Another important development project was the London Plan presented in February 2004 , which envisaged the construction of 30,000 new apartments annually. As a declared opponent of the Iraq war , Livingstone made headlines in November 2003 when he described US President George W. Bush as "the greatest threat to life on this planet" in advance of his visit to London. He organized a "peace reception for all those who are not George Bush" in the City Hall and invited prominent war opponents such as Ron Kovic .

Livingstone's request for readmission had been rejected by his party in 2002. When opinion polls predicted an extremely poor election result for official candidate Nicky Gavron ahead of the second Mayor of London elections, many leaders of the Labor Party feared a debacle. On January 9, 2004, the party executive decided to resume Livingstone "on probation," despite considerable opposition from prominent party members such as Treasury Secretary Gordon Brown, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and former party chairman Neil Kinnock. The London party section then voted him an overwhelming majority as the official candidate. On June 10, 2004, Livingstone won the election by a large margin. First and second votes added together, he won with a share of 55.4%.

Second term as mayor (2004-2008)

Ken Livingstone in the St. Patrick's Day Parade (March 17, 2007)

In February 2005 Livingstone was heavily criticized in the media. Two months earlier, he had equated Oliver Finegold, a Jewish journalist for the conservative Evening Standard tabloid, with a concentration camp guard after he tried to interview Livingstone after a reception. He told the reporter to "work for a newspaper that is not known to support fascism". This was an allusion to the Daily Mail newspaper, published by the same publisher , which had shown sympathy for the British fascists around Oswald Mosley in the 1930s and supported German National Socialism . After an open vote, the London Assembly unanimously asked Livingstone to apologize to Finegold. However, he refused and insisted on having acted correctly in terms of wording and content. The Standards Board for England , the regulator of England's local government, initiated disciplinary proceedings over numerous complaints . On February 24, 2006, Livingstone was sentenced to four weeks' suspension from office. Two days later, following a complaint from Livingstone , the High Court of Justice provisionally overturned the verdict, and on October 5, it was declared invalid.

In March 2005, Livingstone hit the headlines when he called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a " war criminal " in a column for The Guardian newspaper, blaming him for the Sabra and Shatila massacres and ethnic cleansing . He equated the Israeli occupation policy with the Shoah and was therefore accused of having promoted historical revisionism . Two months earlier he had invited Yusuf al-Qaradawi , an Islamist cleric and supporter of suicide attacks, to an official reception.

Livingstone continued to be deeply involved in the London 2012 Summer Olympics and traveled to Singapore to attend the crucial IOC Congress . The positive decision of the IOC on July 6, 2005 was seen as a great personal success for Livingstone. Just one day later, the terrorist attacks on July 7, 2005 rocked the city. Livingstone then launched a campaign to emphasize London's multiculturalism and create a sense of unity among city dwellers. In September 2005 he campaigned for a statue to be erected in Trafalgar Square in honor of Nelson Mandela : “There is no better place for a statue of Nelson Mandela than our most important place, so that every generation can join in the fight against racism can remember ”. The statue was erected two years later, but in Parliament Square .

In March 2006, Livingstone received Hugo Chavez , the President of Venezuela , which led to severe criticism from conservative politicians for suppressing freedom of expression. In November 2006 he made a return visit to Venezuela. He and his companions made a stopover in Cuba. Many British media condemned the £ 29,000 cost as a waste of taxpayers' money. In February 2007, a contract was signed for the supply of cheaper Venezuelan oil for the operation of the London buses. In return, the GLA should advise the country in the areas of urban planning, environmental protection and traffic. The Conservative MPs of the London Assembly criticized this approach and said that the necessary funds should better be used to help the poor in Venezuela directly.

Livingstone intended to run for a third term for mayor on May 1, 2008, this time against Conservative challenger Boris Johnson . The Labor election campaign took a damper in December 2007 when the Evening Standard accused Livingstone's close confidante Lee Jaspers of embezzling £ 2.5 million from the urban development agency. Jasper then stepped back. An independent investigation in July 2009 came to the conclusion that although there was no evidence of illegal behavior, there were significant gaps in the accounting. Livingstone did not succeed in re-election: After counting the votes, it was clear on the evening of May 2, 2008 that Johnson had been elected with 53.2%.

After the time as mayor

The newly elected mayor praised Livingstone for his "extremely remarkable achievements". The new city administration nevertheless reversed some decisions. In particular, it ended the oil deal with Venezuela. Intending to give Venezuela the aid that had been promised, Livingstone announced in August 2008 that he would be serving as an urban planning advisor in Caracas .

In January 2009, in response to the Gaza War , Livingstone called on the European Union and the British government to withdraw their ambassadors from Israel to express their displeasure with “the slaughter and systematic murder of innocent Arabs”. From September 2009 to March 2011 he hosted the literary program Epilogue on the English-language Iranian television channel Press TV , which earned him criticism from organizations of the Iranian exiles. In May 2011 Livingstone said he was "appalled" that Osama bin Laden was shot dead by US special forces "in his pajamas and in front of his child." The values ​​of Western democracy could have been demonstrated far better if he had been brought to justice.

Livingstone ran again on May 3, 2012 for the Labor Party in the election of London's Mayor. He lost again to Boris Johnson, with 48.5% of the vote in the second counting round. After his electoral defeat, he said it would be his last election.

In April 2016, Livingstone publicly commented on Facebook posts by Labor MP Naz Shah ; she was expelled from the party after demanding that Israeli Jews be relocated to the United States. Livingstone said her posts were "completely exaggerated" and "rowdy," but did not consider them anti-Semitic. He claimed there was "a finely tuned campaign by the Israel lobby that slandered as anti-Semitic anyone who criticizes Israeli politics." He went on to say that Adolf Hitler had supported Zionism , specifically the deportation of Jews to Palestine, before he went mad and killed six million Jews. When under pressure, he defended himself that his claim was backed up by Lenni Brenner's scientific research . In particular, Labor MP John Mann , with whom Livingstone had previously clashed, verbally attacked Livingstone in front of the cameras and called him a "Nazi apologist".

The whole affair came at an inopportune time for the Labor Party, as regional elections in Scotland and Wales and local elections in England, including the election of the mayor of London, were due in early May 2016 . The top candidates in Wales and Scotland, Carwyn Jones and Kezia Dugdale, as well as the London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan therefore rushed to distance themselves from Livingstone and demanded his suspension or even his expulsion from the Labor Party. Because of his statements, Livingstone's party membership was suspended on April 28, 2016, because he had "discredited" the party. The suspension was extended indefinitely by outgoing Secretary General Iain McNicol in his last official act on March 1, 2018.

literature

• John Carvel: Citizen Ken . Chatto & Windus, London 1984, ISBN 978-0-7011-3929-2 .
• John Carvel: Turn Again Livingstone . Profile Books, London 1999, ISBN 978-1-86197-131-9 .
• Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Arcadia Books, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-905147-72-4 .
• Ken Livingstone: If Voting Changed Anything They'd Abolish it . Collins, London 1987, ISBN 0-00-217770-6 (autobiography).
• Ken Livingstone: You Can't Say That: Memoirs . Faber and Faber, London 2011, ISBN 978-0-571-28041-4 (autobiography).

Web links

Commons : Ken Livingstone  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Ken Livingstone in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Brief portrait on citymayors.com
• Brief portrait on BBC News

Individual evidence

1. ↑ FAZ.net, March 1, 2018
2. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . Pp. 27-28.
3. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . P. 32.
4. ↑ Nick Barratt: Family Detective: Ken Livingstone. The Daily Telegraph , April 7, 2007, accessed April 24, 2015 . 
5. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken. Pp. 38-39.
6. ^ Sarah Womack: Livingstone splits up with long-time lover. The Daily Telegraph, November 5, 2001, accessed April 24, 2015 . 
7. ↑ London's Mayor has five children. BBC News , April 3, 2008, accessed April 10, 2016 . 
8. ↑ Ken Livingstone: If Voting Changed Anything They'd Abolish it . Pp. 12-13.
9. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . P. 42.
10. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 27-36.
11. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 39.
12. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 57.
13. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 48.
14. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 50.
15. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . P. 63.
16. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 72-77.
17. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . Pp. 16-18.
18. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . P. 19.
19. ↑ Ken Livingstone: If Voting Changed Anything They'd Abolish it . Pp. 144-145, 151.
20. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . P. 88.
21. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . Pp. 184-185.
22. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . Pp. 115-118.
23. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . Pp. 135-136.
24. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 142-148.
25. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . Pp. 90-91.
26. ↑ John Carvel: Citizen Ken . P. 153.
27. ^ Loyalists planned to kill Livingstone. The Guardian , June 10, 2003, accessed April 24, 2015 . 
28. ↑ My plot to murder Ken Livingstone, by former hitman. (No longer available online.) Evening Standard , Nov. 1, 2006, archived from the original on Jan. 16, 2009 ; accessed on April 24, 2015 . 
29. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 202-204.
30. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 235-236.
31. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 243.
32. ^ John Carvel: Turn Against Livingstone . P. 277.
33. ^ John Carvel: Turn Against Livingstone . P. 237.
34. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 79.
35. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 280.
36. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 283-284.
37. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 293.
38. ^ John Carvel: Turn Against Livingstone . Pp. 246-247.
39. ^ John Carvel: Turn Against Livingstone . P. 253.
40. ^ John Carvel: Turn Again Livingstone . P. 267.
41. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 299.
42. ^ Labor backs Dobson for mayor. BBC News, February 20, 2000, accessed April 24, 2015 . 
43. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 312-314.
44. ↑ Labor expels Livingstone. BBC News, April 4, 2000, accessed April 24, 2015 . 
45. ^ Livingstone triumphs in London. BBC News, May 4, 2000, accessed April 24, 2015 . 
46. ^ John Carvel: Turn Against Livingstone . P. 271.
47. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 333-334.
48. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 328-332.
49. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 342-348.
50. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 350-351.
51. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone. Pp. 407-408.
52. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 360-383.
53. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone. Pp. 408-409.
54. ↑ Bush faces fiery welcome. The Guardian, November 3, 2003, accessed April 24, 2015 . 
55. ↑ Livingstone wins mayoral contest. BBC News, June 11, 2004, accessed April 24, 2015 . 
56. ↑ Livingstone attacks 'scumbag' standard. The Guardian, February 10, 2005, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
57. ^ Defiant mayor stays on the attack. The Guardian, February 10, 2005, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
58. ↑ Mayor is suspended over Nazi jibe. BBC News, February 24, 2006, accessed February 23, 2015 . 
59. ^ Judge freezes mayor's suspension. BBC News, February 28, 2006, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
60. ↑ Ken's suspension or thrown out. BBC News, October 5, 2006, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
61. ↑ This is about Israel, not anti-semitism. The Guardian, March 4, 2005, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
62. ↑ To Embrace that Shames London. New Statesman, January 24, 2005, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
63. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 265-266.
64. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . P. 374.
65. ↑ Mayor fights for Mandela statue. BBC News, September 22, 2005, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
66. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 418-420.
67. ↑ Mayor signs Venezuelan oil deal. BBC News, February 20, 2007, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
68. ^ Andrew Hosken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone . Pp. 426-431.
69. ↑ Johnson wins London mayoral race. BBC News, May 2, 2008, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
70. ^ Livingstone to be Chavez adviser. BBC News, August 28, 2008, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
71. ^ Stars call for ceasefire in Gaza. BBC News, January 2, 2009, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
72. ↑ Exiles outraged at Livingstone role on Iran TV 'mouthpiece'. The Times , January 21, 2011, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
73. ↑ Ken Livingstone: Bin Laden should not have been shot. The Daily Telegraph, April 17, 2012, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
74. ^ London mayor: Boris Johnson wins second term by tight margin. BBC, May 4, 2012, accessed May 5, 2012 . 
75. ↑ John Rentoul: Ken Livingstone has deservedly gone - but Naz Shah made a genuine apology we should be prepared to accept. The Independent , April 28, 2015, accessed April 29, 2016 . 
76. ^ Ken Livingstone's Hitler remarks spark Labor calls for suspension. The Guardian , April 28, 2016, accessed April 29, 2016 . 
77. ^ ^{A b} Ken Livingstone says Labor should reinstate him because everything he said about Jewish people "was true". The Daily Telegraph , April 29, 2016, accessed April 29, 2016 . 
78. ^ Mann confronts Livingstone over anti-Semitic claims. BBC News, April 29, 2016, accessed April 30, 2016 . 
79. ↑ Livingstone knew how harmful comments would be, Jones says. April 28, 2016, accessed May 1, 2016 . 
80. ^ Kezia Dugdale calls for Ken Livingstone to be suspended. STV News, April 28, 2016, accessed on May 1, 2016 . 
81. ^ Ken Livingstone suspended from Labor after Hitler remarks. The Guardian , April 28, 2016, accessed April 29, 2016 . 
82. ↑ Ken Livingstone expelled from Labor Party. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , March 1, 2018, accessed on March 3, 2018 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
-	Mayor of London 2000-2008	Boris Johnson

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on September 30, 2005 .