[A-List] UK state: London mayoral election

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Maybe Mark can let us know about what to expect in the super, soaraway
"Londoner"...


Livingstone to launch his own newspaper at cost of £1.8m
By Paul Waugh Deputy Political Editor
The Independent, 07 November 2002

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. After years of sparring with the press, Ken
Livingstone has finally decided that he can no longer keep taking on the
tabloids and has launched his own newspaper.

In a direct challenge to one of his biggest critics, London's Evening
Standard, the Mayor of London will next month launch a rival publication
called The Londoner.

Delivered direct to every one of the three million homes in the capital, the
free newspaper will have a circulation second only to The Sun, a paper which
once dubbed the former Greater London Council leader "the most odious man in
Britain".

However, despite its tabloid format, The Londoner's only page three pin-up
is Ken Livingstone. Just in case we had forgotten what he looked like, the
December issue also features the Mayor's face on pages 4 and 11. In fact,
with 16 references to "Ken Livingstone", 27 references to "the Mayor", a
"Letters to Ken" page and several other articles quoting Mr Livingstone, his
opponents are bound to claim that the paper is nothing other than
propaganda.

The annual cost of The Londoner, about £1.8m, is bound to trigger criticism
too, although the Mayor's office insists that it could save money currently
spent on public consultation leaflets and circulars.

The paper was born after a Mori poll carried out for the Greater London
Authority (GLA) indicated that most people in the city felt "poorly
informed" about its activities. "Everyone knows who Ken is, but few know
what we are doing," said a source.

Mr Livingstone effectively called on Londoners to boycott the Evening
Standard earlier this year following its criticism of his conduct at a
late-night party. He christened the paper "Baby Mail", alleged it had a
right wing agenda and claimed it concentrated more on botox than the ballot
box.

The new 12-page tabloid, which will be published six times a year, certainly
cannot be accused of titillating its readers, as its centre spread featuring
all of London's night bus routes amply proves.

Redmond O'Neill, Mr Livingstone's policy director, said: "The Mayor is
committed to open government. The Londoner is a means to inform and consult
every household on the policy and decisions of the GLA."

The paper's title is a clear dig at his least favourite daily, which has a
gossip column called "The Londoner". But just to show there's no hard
feelings, it is being printed by The Northcliffe Press, printers of the
Evening Standard itself.

----

Paper candidates
The Independent, 07 November 2002
Editorial

Nicky Gavron may not yet be a household name, but she should soon become a
familiar face in London. Having beaten Tony Banks to the Labour nomination
for the mayoral election in 2004, she will fight a campaign against Ken
Livingstone that, we suspect, may lack a little bite. Mr Livingstone, a man
who was expelled from the Labour Party, has endorsed her as his "sweetheart"
candidate. The opposition will have to come from Steve Norris, the likely
Conservative, and the Liberal Democrats' Simon Hughes (if he can make up his
mind).

No doubt, as the current Deputy Mayor, Ms Gavron will be featured almost as
regularly as the mayor himself in his latest money-wasting scheme: a new
bi-monthly newspaper, funded by council taxpayers. The paper will be printed
by Northcliffe Press, part of the group that owns the Evening Standard, Mr
Livingstone's chief tormentor. How's that for a public-private partnership?