Tag Archive for 'Hodges'

Pub Quiz - the results!

Published
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admin
on March 19, 2008
in Events
. 1 Comment

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Well what an interesting night, and not just because I fell asleep on the train home and ended up in an old people’s home in Gillingham at three o’clock this morning. No, interesting because Time Out readers came in their droves to our quiz and proved our platform to be correct - that is, they are clued-up bright and generally the best people in London - by displaying an astounding amount of knowledge about our fair city.

This wasn’t any old quiz but a fiendishly tough one devised and delivered by Marcus Berkmann, the master of the form and author of the rightly lauded ‘Prince of Wales Quiz Book’. Thanks to everyone that came but since you had a free drink, I am informed by the electoral commission that it would be a criminal offence if I then asked you to vote for me. So don’t, ah, vote for me (if you get my drift).

Read what the crack team of London bloggers had to say about the evening (and their less-than-perfect performance!)

And there’s a report from the Word magazine’s admirable team who are still deluding themselves they came joint third. In reality, they fell at the final tiebreaker hurdle and missed out on a slap-up meal for six at the Wagamama of their choice.

Photo credit: Jonathan Perugia

Hodges takes time off the campaign trail to answer your questions

Published
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on February 26, 2008
in Campaign update
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Q. Boris Johnson’s ‘five-point plan’ in your ‘Trident On Trial’ piece (TO 1957) is evidence enough why he should not be in Parliament, let alone a Mayoral candidate. Without pointing out the irrelevance of scanners at stations to the gun crime problem, his proposed solution of building sports academies is insulting. Not all young black men are 100-metre hurdlers. Why stop there? You could also build dancing schools and a libido museum. Education, careers and aspiration is an alternative to crime. A simple increased investment in teachers and schools would do more good than perpetuating the stereotype that we are all sportsmen. Fullen Bless, by email

A. Hear! hear! Though the Mayor has no direct control over education he can influence the course it takes. Unlike Ken we are campaigning for a city-based income tax that would divert money to facilities and educational projects in London’s poorer areas. And these wouldn’t just be sporting and musical, though these are obvious ways to reach disenfranchised youth, white or black, in London.

Q. When opinion polls are on a knife-edge, is it really that difficult to make a decision between Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson? Ken champions London’s multiculturalism and action on climate change, while Boris Johnson was critical of Nelson Mandela’s victory over apartheid in 1994 and welcomed George Bush’s ’scrumpling up’ of the Kyoto Treaty. This is the real choice. Is Time Out scared to take on the Evening Standard? Ben Folley, N17

Q. It is clear that in the run-up to the Mayoral election that there are only two obvious choices: Ken or Boris. For Time Out to launch a campaign for its own candidate in light of this is not only an ego-driven waste of time, but it shouts of a lack of courage to back a real politician. Ken Livingstone, no matter what you personally feel about him, is an accountable politician who stands up for his views and isn’t afraid of being unpopular. He celebrates multiculturalism in London and stands up for the poor. Boris Johnson knows that if he really stood up for his views in public (these include not only the well-documented racist comments, but also opposition to the Kyoto Treaty, minimum wage and affordable housing), he would be very unpopular, and instead woos voters with lies. He tolerates multiculturalism in London and would be a disaster for the poor. Is it a difficult choice? Sarah Joyce, by email

A. Time Out’s purpose is not to be an automatic supporter of Ken Livingstone, but the voice of creative London. This campaign is based in large part on a democratic canvas of our readers and many of them, unlike Ben and Sarah, are unhappy with Ken’s regime. Why, in a democracy, should we stifle that voice?

Continue reading ‘Hodges takes time off the campaign trail to answer your questions’

Meet Hodges! Topshop, Oxford Street, 1pm, Thurs 28 Feb

Published
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admin
on February 22, 2008
in Campaign update and Events
. 2 Comments

The Great Cake Assault

Which candidate would you most like to eat? Taste them all when Time Out’s Michael Hodges launches a cake assault at 1pm, outside Topshop, Oxford St, W1.

Stop press: Standard covers Hodges

Published
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Campaignmanager
on February 20, 2008
in Campaign update
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Michael Hodges’ Mayoral campaign was picked up in Tuesday’s Evening Standard.

Hodges told them: ‘I’m very serious about this. I felt that the votes of young Londoners were being taken for granted and I would love to shake up a system that is letting Londoners down.’

‘Under Ken Livingstone we have seen pubs, clubs and theatres closed at an unprecedented level and I want to save the soul of the city.’

To read the full story, click here.