Why ken livingstone lost

Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world. Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert commentary and analysis you can trust. Sign in. Accessibility help Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer. Become an FT subscriber to read: Ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone quits Labour party Make informed decisions with the FT Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world.

Choose your subscription. Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms. British opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks during the declaration of his seat in the general election in Islington, London, Friday, Dec. Jeremy Corbyn second from left holding a wreath during a visit to the Martyrs of Palestine, in Tunisia, in October Facebook page of the Palestinian embassy in Tunisia.

View comments Hide comments. Stay updated. Labour is the largest single party with 23 councillors while the Lib Dems have 21, the Tories 14 and there are five independents. Livingstone stands by Hitler comments. Image source, Reuters. Ken Livingstone has been suspended by the Labour Party over his Hitler comments. Misjudgment clothed as high principle. On 23 January, two polls put Livingstone slightly ahead. Two weeks later, he handed another gift to his opponent.

No one seriously questions his stance on equalities. But it was not smart to tell Jemima Khan that the new-look Tory party was "riddled with gays". Self-harming and some accidents. He wasn't to know perhaps, that the real people in his election video — whose concerns reduced him to tears — were actors recruited by an advertising agency, but these misfortunes count when the plot is unravelling. For every step forward, two back.

Livingstone tried to shift the focus away from personalities. But it was a hard case to accept from someone whose brand signature, hitherto successful, is the singular use of his first name. He rose as a political personality, and he fell as a political personality because his personality was overwhelmed by the baggage it had acquired over years of largely distinguished public service. This was predictable. Many indeed predicted it in when Livingstone's long-held grip of the London Labour party saw him easily selected as the candidate.

No one of that stature stepped up. The rest we know. It wasn't just Ken who failed. Ken Livingstone: a London heavyweight brought down by his baggage. Labour's former mayor had powerful forces against him, not the least of which was his own past. Ken Livingstone was never able to give his London mayoral campaign momentum. Reuse this content.