LONDON | I dag väljer London borgmästare. Kommer väljarna straffa den sittande borgmästaren för regeringens misstag?
När regeringen nu tappar i opinionen seglar Labour automatiskt upp som ett attraktivt alternativ för väljarna.
Det har därför blivit av yttersta viktig för premiärministern och det konservativa partiet att borgmästaren Boris Johnson inte förlorar mot Ken Livingstone.
Idag avgörs även om man skall införa direkta borgmästarval i tio andra städer. Resultatet av dessa val är av stor vikt för de konservativa.
Direktvalda borgmästarval ses som strategiskt viktigt för partiet om man skall lyckas vinna tillbaka städer och områden utanför sina traditionella kärnområden.
Och skulle Johnson förlora i London (och partiet lokalt) kommer resultatet spilla över på regeringen. En förlust kommer att tolkas som det första tecknet på en kommande valförlust nationellt för partiet och koalitionsregeringen.
Fraser Nelson, redaktör på The Spectator, skriver:
A pile-up of government errors has followed and, now, confirmation that we are in a double-dip recession. Labour is ten percentage points ahead nationally, and a stunning 19 points in London. The election would be a walkover for Labour were it not for Boris’s popularity among non-Tories, and the contempt which so many Labour voters have for Ken. The question in this election is how fast Boris can swim against the anti-Tory tide.
[…]
Boris’s aides have watched aghast as the government has muddled its way into disaster after disaster. On Friday, Britain loaned £10 billion to the IMF. This was followed on Monday by headlines about even deeper cuts to government in Britain.
[…]
The Mayor matters because he represents a certain strand of Conservatism, unashamed about Tory principles and unafraid of making unpopular arguments. His Toryism is one of tax cuts, standing up for British bankers and defying the European Union when it threatens our prosperity. Boris embodies the rejection of the Blair/Clinton ‘triangulation’ politics, where the least offensive politician is deemed the most successful.
This election was always about more than just London. It is about how we do politics, who fights and who wins. Over the last 20 years, our politics has been reduced into a battle for swing voters in swing seats. This has led our political class in a certain direction, directed by the sat-navs of the opinion polls and focus groups. Boris has defiantly set off in another direction, guided by instinct and brio. And this is why his victory matters so much.
Text och tidskriftsomslaget ovan från The Spectator den 28 april 2012.
the Campaign Dossier 