Ken Livingstone

Ken Livingstone was born in southern London in 1945 and is an authentic Londoner. Livingstone has always been an unconventional figure in British politics, known for being outspoken and outspoken. His unique left-wing style almost caused him to capsize in politics, and his relationship with Prime Minister Blair has always been tense and lax. But for decades, he remained the same. Livingstone joined the Labour Party in 1969 and began his political career, having been elected to parliament twice. In the Labour Party for more than 30 years, he has won the love of grassroots members, but is not allowed by the top leadership of the Labour Party. He is willing to engage in dialogue with the Sinn Fein Party and the Irish Republican Army, support gay organizations, support the European single currency policy, and call for the abolition of the monarchy, all of which are incompatible with the political mainstream in Britain. Due to his leftist stance, he is known as the Red Ken. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher did not like him and regarded him as a troublemaker, while current Prime Minister Blair once described him as a disaster in London. From late 1999 to early 2000, there was a personal struggle between Livingstone and the Labour Party, as well as between Livingstone and Blair, surrounding his candidacy for mayor of London. Blair openly opposed Livingstone's election, saying that it was the extreme left policy he represented that kept the Labour Party out of office for 18 years. The old city of London, with a population of over 7 million, has never had its own mayor. In 1999, as soon as the ruling Labour government decided to allow democratic elections for mayor in London, Livingstone announced his readiness to run for mayor. The Labour government was concerned that Livingstone's election would run counter to the existing Labour line and hoped that he would show loyalty to the party and give up the election, but Livingstone remained unmoved. Livingstone's various signs of independence angered the Labour government, which ultimately nominated Health Minister Frank Dobson. This angered Livingstone, who decided to bypass the Labour Party and announce his candidacy as an independent candidate. After Livingstone announced his candidacy as an independent candidate, Blair simply expelled Livingstone from the Labour Party. Later, Livingstone claimed that running as an independent candidate was a political gamble he chose. Fortunately, he, who is adept at using the media to create momentum and possesses eloquence, actually won the bet without the support of political parties behind his back. After Livingstone was elected as the mayor of London in May 2000, he did not disappoint expectations and made bold reforms to London, the most important of which was to solve the transportation problems that had plagued London for many years. With the efforts of Livingstone, London has officially imposed a city entrance fee, with vehicles entering an 8-mile radius of central London being charged \u00a3 5. Although there were some opposing voices at the beginning of the announcement, it has been proven that the collection of entrance fees has indeed alleviated the long-standing traffic congestion in central London, providing a successful template for other cities to solve such problems. Due to his creative achievements in solving the traffic congestion problem in central London, Livingstone became one of the top 50 science and technology experts in 2003 among the many Nobel Prize winning Ivy League professors in the United States. During the London bombings in July 2005, his leadership skills were widely praised, and