WHERE’S THE RED ROSE?
This is far from the first instance where personality has overpowered party, if that is indeed what has happened, in the race to be Mayor of London. A quick flick through the official manifesto booklet, where candidates are given two A5 pages to pitch their policies, reveals a conspicuous near-absence of the political party that governs the country. The spread belonging to the incumbent mayor and Labour Party candidate Ken Livingstone has only the smallest space for the famous rose logo that is so strongly associated with the Labour Party. Furthermore there is the colour of the spread, a dauntless purple overwhelms the pages, and no thought appears to have been spared for Labour’s traditional red. Whilst the man formerly known as “Red” Ken seems to have every belief in his own powers, he seems less confident in his party.
