CONGRATULATIONS TO BORIS ' The New Mayor Of London Our heartiest best wishes go to Boris Johnson who just won the London Mayoral Race this weekend. Boris Johnson, the new mayor of London, took the Mayorship away from Ken Livingstone thus ending Ken's eight-year supreme reign at City Hall in London. Boris who is the Conservative candidate won by getting 1,168,738 first and second preference votes, whereas Ken got 1,028,966 and there was a record turnout of 45%.
From the figures it does look like it was a close race to the finish line. Liberal Democrat nominee, Brian Paddick, came in third position and the Greens' Party candidate, Sian Berry, came in at number four. Boris will surely now stand down as MP for Henley Upon Thames, thus triggering a sudden by-election there. On signing the official declaration for office at City Hall, he immediately asked the public to assist in building on the "very considerable achievements of the last mayor of London". In the victory speech, he described Mr Livingstone as "a very considerable public servant".
He continued "You shaped the office of mayor. You gave it national prominence and when London was attacked on 7 July 2005 you spoke for London." Mr Johnson paid a cheeky tribute to Ken's "courage and the sheer exuberant nerve with which you stuck it to your enemies, especially in New Labour". The Boris Johnson story now enters a new era, which we are sure he will excel at.
Boris paid kind tribute to Mr Livingstone and he even seemed to offer Ken a potential role in his new administration ! Boris said of Mr Livingstone in front of the world's media that he hoped to "discover a way in which the mayoralty can continue to benefit from your transparent love of London". Boris also said that he would work to earn the trust of those Londoners that did not vote for him, or who had voted for him with hesitation. "I will work flat out to repay and to justify your confidence. We have a new team ready to go into City Hall.
" "Where there have been mistakes we will rectify them, where there are achievements we will build on them, where there are neglected opportunities we will seize on them." Boris promised to hit the crime rate by promoting stronger round the clock policing in London and to concentrate on improving transport, to promote cycling and more green space, also to build more affordable homes and give greater value for money for London's tax payers. Mr Johnson's victory was the crowning glory for the Conservative Party as it did very well in the May Day local council elections last week by winning control over many councils in England and Wales. Ken Livingstone stated that he was 'Sorry' and he said he wished the public were aware that the Labour Party had changed "into a party that can be trusted after 30 years with the greatest, most cosmopolitan, multi-racial generous hearted city on earth".
Mr Livingstone's defeat at the polls has created more problems for the beleaguered Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, in what was called a "bad" day for the Labour Party, as it suffered its worst council defeats in the local UK results in over 40 years. When the BBC asked Boris on his view as to the poor Labour Party showing, Mr Johnson commented "The smart thing for Labour to do would be to quietly remove Gordon Brown and install [Foreign Secretary David] Miliband, is my view, but I don't think they'll do it." The leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, praised Boris Johnson for his "serious and energetic campaign" and said that the Conservative Party was now "winning the battle of ideas" in the UK.
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