How will the left vote in London?

Gone are the days when lefties just voted Labour and got on with their lives. Today’s socialist about town has to actually do a bit of thinking when deciding how to vote. In London’s elections it gets even more complicated because you have four votes on three ballot papers and, by crickey, you have different candidates standing, using different systems and everything.

So who will the left be voting for today?

In the Mayoral election you’d have thought the choice was simple. Red Ken. Next question.

Except… he’s not really that red anymore is he? He used his time as Mayor to promote the City of London which left London’s economy even more skewed towards the financial sector than it was before, just in time for a wapping great financial crash. Worse still he’s the man who brought us the Olympics with it’s stupid lanes, enforced patriotism and missiles sited on blocks of flats.

And then there’s the campaign. One of the key demands of the new left, epitomised by UK Uncut, is that people pay the proper amount of taxes, something Mr Livingstone signed up for and then… well, it’s all rather embarrassing isn’t it? He doesn’t even like Bob Crow that much.

Mind you, in this battle of good against evil even your most purist lefty would have to be made of stone not to at least give Livingstone a second preference just to keep Boris Johnson from getting a second term. After all he’s a Conservative and believes the things Conservatives believe in, worse, he’s popular.

So who’s left of Ken?

That still leaves a problem, who to vote for ahead of Livingstone, just so you’ve made your point that Labour can’t just put a donkey in front of the electorate and expect them to vote for it out of loyalty to a party they probably aren’t even a member of. Of the seven candidates three are of the right and one’s Livingstone, so let’s forget them and look at the other three.

Brian Paddick? He’s a liberal copper who wants to legalise cannabis and stop policemen being racist. That sounds alright but, oh yes, he’s a Liberal Democrat and they are part of the Tory led Coalition, so are defacto Tory stooges. Sorry Brian, you’re out.

Some are giving Siobhan Benita their first preference and Alex Hilton, who normally votes Labour, wrote this for Big Smoke that he’d be opting for her this time round. However, whilst she’s very nice, she’s not actually very left-wing and makes a point of describing herself as in the centre. Plenty of Blairite types will be giving Benita their first or second preference, but we don’t really think of them as on the left do we?

So that leaves the Communist Party candidate Jenny Jones. Ah, no, hold on. They’ve changed their name to the Green Party, probably after those people rising up in Iran or something. Rest assured though, the policies are still there. They want to close City Airport, abolish the Corporation of the City of London, give everyone a London Living Wage, and they want to pull out of Afghanistan – although that’s not strictly in the remit of the London Assembly.

That’s sorted then. Green one. Labour two. Simple.

What about the London Assembly list? (aka the orange paper)

This could get tricky. We’ve got two left of Labour parties up for grabs here, the Greens and “TUSC“, the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition. Last weekend Big Smoke hosted what turned out to be a debate between the two and recorded the opening salvos, which you can watch below. Actually it was pretty friendly, all well worth a watch.

I think it’s fair to say that the choice here is between a fairly traditional trade union orientated socialist politics and the more new left style of the Greens. Where the parties differ it’s more of a question of emphasis and demographic than policy, although the Greens obviously have a more established set of policies than the newly formed TUSC.

For example, it’s a little known fact that typical TUSC voters are actually allergic to humus, and even the mention of it can make them itchy, while Green candidates have to pass a pan pipes proficiency course before being allowed to represent the party. Ludicrous!

In terms of emphasis TUSC major on cuts, cuts and more cuts and are critical of anyone who is not as anti-cuts as they are, while the Greens have a broader platform talking about apprenticeships as well as jobs, road safety, air pollution and dangerous dogs. Although the Green Party is opposed to austerity it hasn’t really talked about it that much in this election. For the left TUSC is an ideological safety shot while the Greens are that powerful break that sends the reds all over the place, less predictable but gets into more places.

While both parties need 5% to win a seat this seems far more likely with the Greens than TUSC, but left-wingers should vote with their hearts. Or use the force. But if you are a left-wing trouble-maker don’t vote Labour on the orange paper, save that for the constituency seat.

The London Assembly Constituencies

TUSC aren’t standing in any of the constituencies but there are a smattering of brave souls who chose to take the first past the post ballot paper. For instance, Daniel Lambert of the Socialist Party of Great Britain is standing in Lambeth and Southwark. When I interviewed him a few weeks ago he told me that he thought the problem with Trotskyists was that they weren’t revolutionary enough. So there you go, a fine choice for those lucky enough to live in the area.

Elsewhere you have the Communist League in City and East, People Before Profit in Greenwich and Lewisham, or another Socialist Party candidate in Merton and Wandsworth. Other than that you have Greens in each constituency.

Or you could go Labour, just this once

However, while every decent minded socialist will want to vote as left-wing as possible at every opportunity, no matter how hopelessly placed the candidate, it might be worth bearing in mind that in Barnet and Camden the Tory candidate is Brian Coleman who is as odious a Conservative as you can get. While many of his colleagues have learned to conceal the fact they are shape shifting reptiles Coleman takes delight in eating small mammals infront of horrified Barnet residents and then rubbing his tummy in a kind of salacious yum, yum gesture. The man’s a shambles.

Realistically, if you want to unseat him, or any Tory in a constituency, you need to vote Labour, the party of war and ID cards. Remember, you can off-set voting for the wicked Labour Party by voting for more ethical alternatives on your other ballot papers, if you will insist on voting for people who might actually win.

On Friday Big Smoke hosted a debate in Housmans bookshop on “Can There Be A London Spring?” where those on the left could come together and discuss how they would be voting. Sadly Labour MP John McDonnell was ill so was unable to attend at the last minute but we were very honoured to have the President of the RMT, Alex Gordon, who is standing for the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) and Natalie Bennett, chair of Green Party women and list candidate for the Greens.

We recorded the opening speeches of what turned out to be a very friendly, jolly and informative meeting.

Alex Gordon, the President of the RMT and list candidate for the socialist TUSC