Time For A Change, London

It is time for a change in London. Today is the day voters throughout Greater London can finally get rid of Ken Livingstone as Mayor and get a new London Mayor who can change things for the better.

If you live in Greater London and are registered to vote, go out and vote for a new Mayor, otherwise we will have four more years of arrogance, indifference and sleaze from Ken Livingstone.

This election is very tight and it could go either way. Every single vote counts – including yours. Imagine how you’ll feel if you don’t vote today and tomorrow Ken Livingstone sneaks back in because you failed to vote.

There are plenty of candidates to choose from, some extremely to the left or the right, some in the middle, some with fresh ideas, some with stale ideas.

There is a good candidate in Alan Craig, a Christian and quite possibly a good mayor. Also there is Boris Johnson, the only serious contender to replace Ken Livingstone.

Whoever you vote for, get out and vote, and please do not vote for Ken Livingstone, there are at least two decent alternatives. If Ken wins, he will hire more police, but only so they can fine everyone for minor offences like dropping litter. Suppose you are walking down the street, a sweet wrapper falls out of your pocket as you pull out your mobile phone, and then a police officer sees this and fines you £100. Is this the London you want? Do we really want a police state? That is what Ken Livingstone wants.

I would suggest you make your two votes for Boris Johnson and Alan Craig, but the choice is yours.

London Mayor Elections

Soon it will be time to vote in the elections for the London Mayor, on 1 May 2008. Currently we still have Ken Livingstone as major, but I hope that he will soon be replaced by someone much better.

Ken's achievements have been mixed: he managed to almost bring the office of the London Mayor into disrepute; he has lowered bus fares (after increasing them), at least for Oyster PAYG users; he has increased the costs of cash fares on buses and trains, as well as that of Travelcards; he has introduced to London the hated bendy buses, loved only by those people who travel on it for free; he has given children free travel in a way that encourages them to steal free travel when they longer are entitled to it and a whole children being unruly on buses culture; he has increased our Council Tax bills through his increased spending on pointless projects and things that the London Assembly really should not get involved in; he has broken his promises (e.g. he promised to keep bus conductors, but they soon went); and he is really not a nice man.

I personally would prefer Boris Johnson to be the new London Mayor. If you live anywhere in Greater London (the area covered by the London Mayor, although you would be surprised at how many people who live in Greater London but deny it and deny the truth that the London Mayor has jurisdiction over their town), and you are registered to vote, then please do not vote for Ken Livingstone. He has done enough damage to London already, so it is time for a change.

I cannot tell you who to vote for, but here is Boris Johnson's website: www.boris-johnson.com and read about Boris's plans for small businesses at the Startups website.

Mail Strike

The Royal Mail workers going on strike recently should carefully consider their future. They may well be jeapardising it with many businesses and individuals looking for alternatives to using the postal service. The mail workers have their grievances, but surely if they strike, then they are harming the British economy, as many businesses rely on the postal service for their turnover. They will surely find alternative ways of doing business if the Royal Mail is not available or is unreliable (more so than usual).

As the strikes continue, businesses will no longer want to rely on Royal Mail and so the Royal Mail will lose custom and have a smaller revenue, which in turn must lead to job cuts. The first people they should get rid of, when this happens (I believe it is inevitable, and the longer the strikes last, the more staff will have to be made redundant) should be those who were the most militant in their strike action.

The striking workers should be grateful they have a job and are not signing on at the local Job Centre. If they do not like the pay and conditions they should try living on benefits for a few weeks instead of a salary.

I have already cancelled paper statements on my current account in favour of online statements, something I previously resisted as I like to have a printed statement. But as the mail workers are just being stupid and nasty to their customers, I want to reduce, as much as possible, reliance on the Royal Mail.

So, Royal Mail workers, if you are afraid of losing your jobs and that's why you are striking, then get ready to lose your jobs as you ruin the business you work for.