There's No Fool Like A Group Of Old Fools

As Boris Johnson's victory over Ken Livingstone sinks in, we can no doubt expect great wailing and whining from those who saw Livingstone as some sort of North London version of Che Guevera.

Socialists can display a remarkable facility to self-delusion, something never better demonstrated than attitudes towards not-so Red Ken. It is hard to keep a straight face reading, with hindsight the editorial from the April 2008 Labour Briefing magazine:

"Socialists have expressed other concerns about Livingstone: a strike-breaking approach to the transport unions, support for the Metropolitan Police over the Menezes shooting, links to the Muslim cleric al-Qaradawi, his uncritical courting of the City - none of which should be minimised".

So far so good. Except for the fact that Labour Briefing then decided to ignore all of the above points, and call for an all-out push for Ken!

There was a time when the principles of trades union solidarity were sacrosanct not just throughout the working class, but on the left - any possibility of voting for Livingstone should have ended with his call on tube workers to scab during a dispute. Whilst it is no surprise Labour Briefing (and most of Livingstone's supporters) cannot see the dangerous waters his 'rainbow alliance' politics sailed into, 'red' Ken should have been seen for what he is many, many years ago.

Instead, so far have the likes of Labour Briefing fallen, they saw things in Livingstone that were never there. The only thing that really matters to Ken Livingstone is - Ken Livingstone.

Goodbye Ken - and good riddance.