Ken v Tony: How London elected its first mayor

Regional mayors are present commonplace successful England: Andy Burnham successful Greater Manchester, Ben Houchen successful the Tees Valley and Tracy Brabin successful West Yorkshire are each well-known spokespeople for their areas.

But the astir salient directly-elected politician successful Britain was besides the first: London.

As is fitting for a metropolis arsenic breathtaking arsenic London, the archetypal predetermination for that coveted presumption included allegations of betrayal, stitch ups and intrigue – and 1 campaigner ended up successful prison.

Twenty 5 years agone Tony Blair's government, elected successful 1997 and known arsenic New Labour, was precise keen connected a caller signifier of devolution.

They wanted mayors similar those successful America, large personalities elected with powers and budgets (but not excessively galore powers, oregon excessively large a budget).

In the end, lone 1 was created by Blair's government.

The 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, held successful May that year, asked whether determination was enactment for creating a Greater London Authority with a straight elected politician and Assembly.

The voters were little keen than New Labour - conscionable 34% turned retired to vote, but the bulk was wide nonetheless: 72% successful favour.

The 'Yes' ballot won successful each London borough, with enactment lowest successful Bromley with 57% and highest successful Haringey with 84%.

Now London was to person a mayor, who would it be?

The evident campaigner was Ken Livingstone, the erstwhile left-wing firebrand (and publicity-friendly) person of the Greater London Council (GLC), who went toe-to-toe with the Thatcher authorities - and lost.

The GLC was abolished successful 1986, leaving London successful the unenviable presumption of having 32 boroughs (and the City of London) but nary wide strategical elected assemblage for the largest metropolis successful Europe.

However, Livingstone's quality to alienate premier ministers wasn't confined to Conservatives.

Tony Blair was besides not a Ken fan.

"Red" Ken, arsenic helium was known, was Old Labour, not New Labour.

The connection from Downing St was clear: Stop Ken.

The enactment absorption tried to get the precise fashionable Mo Mowlam to stand, past switched to Frank Dobson.

A bearded, avuncular fig who was serving arsenic New Labour's archetypal wellness secretary, helium was 'persuaded' to basal against his aged comrade Ken.

Dobson had initially, and somewhat bravely, declared his tendency to stay astatine health, but past had to springiness up his furniture spot to tally for a occupation helium didn't want.

The interior workings of Labour tin beryllium hard for outsiders - and galore insiders - to navigate.

In this case, an electoral assemblage was mandated which led to the fashionable Livingstone not winning selection.

The ballot was a 3rd each for enactment members, commercialized unions and London MPs and different elected representatives.

In the last ballot Livingstone won 60% of enactment members and 72% of affiliated unions, but Dobson won 86% of MPs, MEPs and Greater London Assembly candidates.

Dobson truthful won a constrictive wide victory, and the Blairites were accused of rigging the full happening to support Old Labour Ken from the nomination.

Livingstone for his portion had promised not to tally arsenic an independent, past decided that that was what helium was going to bash aft all.

The Tories besides had a colourful clip choosing their candidate.

In September 1999 the novelist Jeffrey Archer was selected by enactment members, beating Steve Norris.

But successful a crippled twist reminiscent of 1 of his books, Archer withdrew from the contention a fewer months aboriginal aft it was alleged helium had committed perjury successful a celebrated libel case.

Lord Archer had secured the Conservative information with backing from erstwhile premier ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, who successful 1992 had made him a peer.

Five years earlier, successful 1987, Archer had won a libel lawsuit against The Daily Star which published a communicative that helium had paid disconnected a enactment idiosyncratic called Monica Coghlan.

After his enactment arsenic a mayoral candidate, a erstwhile person of Archer's told the News of the World that helium had lied successful the libel proceedings and asked him to supply a mendacious alibi.

Archer stood down from the race, and starred successful a accumulation of his courtroom play, The Accused, successful London's West End portion waiting for his proceedings to start.

In July 2001 helium was recovered blameworthy and spent 2 years successful jail, but retained his peerage and rank of the House of Lords arsenic determination was nary mechanics to region them astatine the time.

Norris was selected arsenic the Conservative Party campaigner to regenerate Archer.

A precise antithetic benignant of Tory, Norris advocated for cheery rights and had a relaxed attack to monogamy.

He was besides a erstwhile transport curate who was obsessed with buses.

In that role, helium had a manus successful approving the Jubilee enactment hold from Green Park to Stratford, and the privatisation of London's autobus services.

In the unsmooth and tumble satellite of crook of the period politics, helium was fixed the nickname "Shagger".

A little snippet from a Guardian illustration portion published during that archetypal mayoral campaign gives a flavour of Norris' analyzable appeal.

"The time his archetypal candidature was announced was marked by a missive to the Times from his father-in-law, a retired rear-admiral, expressing astonishment astatine Norris's nationalist plans to wed the 4th of his celebrated 5 mistresses … since arsenic acold arsenic the rear-admiral knew, Norris was inactive joined to his daughter."

Norris was a self-made man, a millionaire car salesman who grew up successful moving people Liverpool, attending the aforesaid schoolhouse arsenic Paul McCartney.

Not galore 2025 Tories tin boast that benignant of hinterland.

There whitethorn person been immoderate intrigue successful the Lib Dem enactment process, but it is mislaid to past if determination was.

Their campaigner was the estimable Susan Kramer, who was subjected to condescension and mansplaining passim the run - this was a clip erstwhile pistillate Labour MPs were referred to arsenic "Blair's Babes" by tabloid and broadsheet newspapers alike.

Livingstone was to equine the archetypal - and truthful acold lone - palmy autarkic bid for Mayor of London.

Dobson ran a run that ne'er truly captured the imaginativeness of London's voters, and his aged comrade won the historical canvass contempt a precocious surge successful enactment for the Tory candidate.

The May 2000 predetermination was a catastrophe for New Labour: Dobson got conscionable 13% of the ballot and was eliminated successful the archetypal circular on with Susan Kramer, who polled a respectable 11.9% for the Lib Dems.

Livingstone led by 39% to 27% of archetypal penchant votes and polled a full of 776,427 votes to 564,137 for Norris, aft 2nd preferences were calculated.

It was a bloody chemoreceptor and a notable decision for the antecedently unassailable Tony Blair.

The BBC News website has an archive of reports from this election, a clip capsule of the mode authorities utilized to be.

It reported that Dobson's "humiliation successful the mayoral canvass was underlined arsenic helium came 4th successful the mayoral contention successful Barnet and Camden - the spot which includes his parliamentary constituency".

The 2000 predetermination reports uncover Livingstone said helium would "fight for the interests of Londoners arsenic mayor, demanding much wealth from the authorities and telling ministers they were incorrect implicit plans to partially privatise the London Underground".

London Underground, present portion of Transport for London, remains successful nationalist hands nether the power of the Mayor of London.

It besides reported that Blair "made it wide Mr Livingstone would not beryllium allowed to instrumentality to Labour aft lasting against an authoritative enactment candidate".

Blair was incorrect astir that: successful 2004 Livingstone was the Labour candidate, and helium won, again defeating Norris.

Livingstone was his party's modular bearer again successful some 2008 and 2012, connected some occasions losing to a young Conservative contender called Boris Johnson.

But that's different story.