Ken pledges to expand culture..

Perhaps riding on the confidence boost provided by the weekend's revelation that he was finally beating contender Boris Johson in the polls (45% against 44%), Ken Livingstone today launched into his manifesto for the upcoming election with a joie de vivre that has been seldom seen over the past few weeks.

Pledging that it would be his mission to provide an expansion of cultural events in London, the mayor stated his intentions to attempt the installation of an international film centre on the South Bank, along with other free festivals throughout the city.

After claiming that London was "the most culturally exciting place on earth" (after Henley, of course), Mr. Livingstone proceeded to emphasise the point that, although the policies of his office weren't directly responsible for the current cultural success of the city, they had created an atmosphere that had allowed the culture to blossom. Figuratively speaking, if London is the egg, it would appear that Mr Livingstone is the chicken whose bottom keeps it warm.

Continuing along these lines, Mr. Livingstone cheerfully proclaimed the benefits of having a culturally diverse infastructure and the ways in which it will benefit London's economy. Indeed, the buzzwords of the speech seemed to be 'culture' and 'creativity', both ingredients that should serve to make the average Londoner very happy. And we must admit that it all sounds very interesting.

But we just wonder what they'll do with the extra traffic?

Written by Oli Anderson on 21 Apr 2008 2:48 PM. Permalink