Perhaps I read Dick Whittington too often as a child, but I’ve been having trouble taking this mayoral business seriously. Sure, the job of running one of the world’s greatest capital cities is extremely important. But whenever someone says “mayor of London”, I think of gold-paved streets and Bow Bells chiming out “Turn again”. If I’d had policy statements to study, I might have cured myself of this frivolity. But to date, not a shred of campaign bumf has come through the letterbox. Which only adds to the fairy-tale quality of this election.
Resolved to become a better informed and more responsible voter, I set off to a student hustings in the Museum of London at which nine of the 11 candidates were due to speak. I had imagined a rowdy caucus of social science undergraduates. But most of the “students” were schoolchildren aged between ten and 14. Nothing wrong with that; indeed, a worthy initiative from the Institute of Citizenship to get kids interested in politics before they reach voting age – after which interest inevitably wanes. Still, some of the children seemed more excited at having the afternoon off school than in grilling the future mayor.
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