You said you're not sure what I mean exactly... In a nutshell your comments above have summarised the answers to the questions I have raised.

Kunjufu I can be more specfic, but u still havent answered my question, which is quite simple,who do u think would do a better job of running London..........

Ken Livingston has given over 1.9 million to the Stephen Lawerence charitable trust.

Ken Livingston and Lee J also helped Voice of Africa radio gain a FM license.

He has provided funding for many community groups like the black Minority ethnic young peoples project. And many other community groups...... but do u think Boris will be able to help the black community in London?
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In an article written in October 2002, Mr Johnson described the Queen meeting "piccaninnies", adding that when the prime minister arrives in the Congo "the pangas will stop their hacking of human flesh, and the tribal warriors will all break out in watermelon smiles" Is that an acceptable thing to say- Kunjufu?people?

Boris Johnson has scrapped a controversial deal between London and Venezuela which helped to fund half-price bus and tram fares for Londoners on low incomes.

The mayor announced yesterday that the agreement he inherited from Ken Livingstone, which traded London's expertise in transport and urban planning for subsidised diesel, would not be renewed when it expired in August.

In the run-up to his election this month the Conservative had denounced the accord as a "completely Caracas" alliance between his Labour rival and Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez.

The mayor said there were better ways to help the British capital and Venezuela. "I think many Londoners felt uncomfortable about the bus operation of one of the world's financial powerhouses being funded by the people of a country where many people live in extreme poverty." The deal, estimated to be worth £15m, covered a fifth of the fuel bill for buses and trams. The savings were converted into discount fares for around 250,000 people on income support. There are no plans to continue the discounts after August.

Livingstone called the move an attack on the poor. "Regardless of Boris Johnson's objections to the oil agreement with Venezuela he has announced no alternative way to provide cheaper travel. It shows that he is more interested in pursuing his rightwing ideological agenda than improving the living standards of the most deprived people in the capital."

Marking an end to the tentative detente between the two men since Johnson's victory, the former mayor blasted Johnson's "Tory regime" for the "cowardly" manner of the announcement. "He has made the announcement on bank holiday Sunday without any consultation with the organisations representing the thousands of carers, single parents and others affected and at a time when he can assume there will be less media coverage."

The decision had been expected. Tories had used the "oil for brooms" deal to paint Livingstone as a loony lefty in thrall to a South American dictator. The former mayor has made no secret of his admiration for Chavez, a self-styled socialist revolutionary who has been democratically elected.

Venezuela's government made no immediate response to London's announcement but it is understood Caracas had hoped to continue the deal.

Mayor scraps fuel deal with Venezuela | Politics | The Guardian

Africa Day:


The free event, organised by the Mayor of London, celebrates the contribution of London's African communities to the capital. The programme features music and live performance from across the African continent, plus African food and drink and stalls selling African arts and crafts.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson says:
"The African continent is home to an enormous number of cultures, languages and traditions. The Africa Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square are an excellent opportunity to get a taste of Africa and its many cultures.

"I encourage all Londoners to play a part this year. Trafalgar Square celebrations are free to all - Londoners and tourists alike. Lets make this event one to remember".

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The Tory high command feared it… and now it’s happened. After four weeks in office, Boris Johnson has walked into his first big trap. The recently elected London mayor has been accused of snubbing Africa Day, which was held yesterday at Trafalgar Square, a not wholly wise move considering his electoral campaign was dogged by allegations of racism, with his past writings about "piccaninnies" held up as evidence.

What makes it worse for Johnson – who cried off because he was "away on a family holiday" – is that the event was organised by his own office at City Hall, and had been hailed as an opportunity to support ethnic minorities.

The no show has not pleased Toyin Agbetu, founder of the African Awareness pressure group Ligali. "That Boris Johnson has chosen not to attend just shows his interest in the matter. I’m glad in a way that he did not attend, hearing what his views are, because I don’t think Africans should be used as a political tool, but on another level he has a duty to show up to show the institutional support of London."


People: Boris snubs Africa Day celebration | News | The First Post

You know i can only ASSume that coltrane has been on MARS since 1997, or worse that he is just too stupid to smell the coffee.. I suppose next he's gonna be telling me that Labour supports the 'working classes' or that it's 'socialist party'?

What sort ofr stupid statement is it to say that the 'toffs' are taking over as if we've NOt had them already in local and national government..sometimes I wonder about people i really do!!!

I voted for Ken but only because I couldn't bring myself to vote for Borris.

I am glad Ken's has gone to be honest!!

Boris adviser quits over race row



A political adviser to London Mayor Boris Johnson has resigned after making an apparently racist remark to an undercover journalist.

Responding to a claim that some black people might leave the UK if Mr Johnson became mayor, James McGrath said: "Let them go if they don't like it here."

Mr McGrath said his remark to Marc Wadsworth, who runs the-latest.com website, was taken out of context.

He said everyone at City Hall was "committed to serving all Londoners".

Mr Wadsworth said that Mr McGrath made the comments when he pointed out a critical piece in a newspaper.

In his online article he writes: "I pointed out to him a critical comment of Voice columnist Darcus Howe that the election of 'Boris Johnson, a right-wing Conservative, might just trigger off a mass exodus of older Caribbean migrants back to our homelands'.

"He retorted: 'Well, let them go if they don't like it here.' McGrath dismissed influential race commentator Howe as ‘shrill'."

Mr McGrath then wrote a comment on the website in reply: "The columnist suggested that older people from the Caribbean might migrant back to their homelands if Boris Johnson became Mayor.

"I felt that this suggestion was ridiculous and intended as a slur and responded by saying with words to effect of 'let people go if they don't like it here'.

"To imply that I meant that all black people who didn't support Boris Johnson should leave the country is utterly absurd and incorrect. And I would ask please that this insinuation is immediately retracted."

In a statement Boris Johnson said: "It is with great regret this evening that I have accepted the resignation of my political adviser, James McGrath.

"Unfortunately, his remarks in a conversation with an Internet journalist, published this weekend, made it impossible for him to continue in that role.

"James is not a racist. I know that. But his response to a silly and hostile suggestion put to him by Marc Wadsworth, allowed doubts to be raised about that commitment."


BBC NEWS | Politics | Boris adviser quits over race row