The Sound Of The Suburbs
London feels like a particularly petulant child at times. Voting in Ken Livingstone as Mayor in 2000 was a poke in the eye not only for the Tories (who had dismantled Livingstone's Greater London Council back in 1986), but also for New Labour, from whom Livingstone had temporarily defected and against whom he was standing as an independent candidate.
And now we've booted him out, in favour of that nice blond man who we like on Have I Got News For You. We've gone from the newt-fancying, terrorist-loving, Socialist scourge to the gas-guzzling, thug-hating, bumbling Etonian (exaggeration used for comic effect... just). It's quite the pendulum swing and very tempting to speculate upon the reasons why.
The key issue seems to be a higher-than-usual turnout in London's outer suburbs, generally more mono-cultural and conservative (not to mention Conservative) than the inner boroughs. Boris Johnson has adeptly targeted this demographic via a series of striking and iconic images of a traditional London, such as bobbies on the beat and Routemaster buses.
More generally, there has been unrest in suburbia for years. I've seen it, because I live there. From a south-east London viewpoint, it's very easy to take the view that City Hall has very little impact on one's everyday life. Day-to-day services are provided by the local Borough. The tube service is temporarily non-existent and DLR & Tramlink penetration is minimal.
Meanwhile, the number of Union Jack and St George's Cross flags flown in our area continues to increase. The Mrs feared for her life when our elderly next-door neighbour put one up, though I reassured her that this was an altogether more gentle kind of Britishness than the strain she'd grown up with in Northern Ireland (let alone the hateful ignorance of the BNP).
This, I think, is what led to the election of Johnson this week. Many English people feel their national identity to be under threat. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved parliaments/assemblies, yet England does not. It's a common complaint that the St Patrick's Day celebrations in London are more high-profile than those for St George's Day.
A glance at the pre-election candidates' booklet is instructive, particularly UKIP's "Fed up with not being listened to?" headline. It's also sometimes inadvertently hilarious. The BNP, for example, cites an Irish student as one of its supporters. Elsewhere, the English Democrats' candidate to "Save London from Labour's Tartan Taxes" is... Matt O'Connor.
The people living in London's outer suburbs tend to identify themselves overwhelmingly as "English". Many of them don't even feel part of the capital. The area where I live, for example, is administratively London but continues to align itself culturally with Kent, a county from which it was severed over forty years ago. It would rather fall under Maidstone than City Hall.
Nevertheless, part of London they are. In Johnson, they've found an empathetic candidate behind whom they've chosen to put their significant weight. Inner Londoners who sneer at the suburbs outside of Zone 2 might have had something of a rude awakening this morning. London's size defines it. Without these suburbs, it's just Northampton with trendier haircuts.
London's a big place and a significant proportion of its inhabitants has felt ignored and disenfranchised for some time. I understand their point of view, even if I don't share it. They didn't all distrust Ken Livingstone, but many couldn't really see what he had to offer them. Now, in Boris Johnson, they've found a voice. It'll be interesting to hear what they have to say.
Posted by Hg on Saturday 03 May 2008 at 13:59.
Received 2 comments so far.
Very astute of Lynton Crosby to target London's far-flung suburbs. There's a lot of votes out there, and every vote is equal.
Just as zone1/2 residents very rarely visit zone 6, so zone 6 residents can lead a perfectly normal life without ever venturing into the heart of the capital.
I suspect that many of Bexley and Bromley's residents would happily vote to return to Kentish rule, although I can't see Boris's new blue empire allowing that!
Comment by diamond geezer on Sunday 04 May 2008 at 17:50.
Yeah, sometimes the insularity of certain sections of London's population - whether based in Zone 1 or 6 - is very frustrating. My view is that you can only truly understand London if you've made an effort to engage with it as a whole. That's why I loved this overhead snippet of conversation so much. She hit the nail right on the head.
I admit to a certain amount of ambivalence to Bexley's and Bromley's Kentish aspirations. Living in the area and identifying myself as a "Londoner", I find the constant harping on about a Kentish past rather tedious. But in principle I'm behind counties like Rutland, who asserted their own identity for long enough to get it reinstated.
Comment by Hg on Monday 05 May 2008 at 10:01.
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