Ken Livingstone's pickpocket poster plays into Mayor Johnson's hands
Mike Pollitt | Wednesday 11 January, 2012 10:23

The problem with portraying Boris Johnson as a cartoon caricature is that his entire political strategy is to be a cartoon caricature.
The dishevelled hair, the ill-tied tie, the portly silhouette – this is an image carefully cultivated by the Mayor and the Livingstone campaign is reinforcing it.
The message this image conveys is: “Fares are up, but don’t worry it’s only that lovable scamp Boris up to one of his japes.”
The “Borisstoppers” line falls into the same trap. It trivialises the man and the office of Mayor. Ken Livingstone shouldn’t be campaigning against “Boris”, the lovable airhead who bumbled into power. He should be campaigning against Mayor Johnson, the cynical, calculating politician with command of large budgets and considerable executive authority, whose relentless focus on his personal image has driven his Mayoralty at the expense of governing in the interest of his citizens.
This poster is frivolous, and if the Mayoral election is to be fought on frivolity then there’s only one winner.
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- The five spookiest abandoned London hospitals
- Could red kites be London's next big nature success story?
- The best church names in London, and where they come from
- The five best places in London to have an epiphany
- London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
- Nice Interactive timeline lets you follow Londoners' historic fight against racism
- Punk brewery just as sexist and homophobic as the industry they rail against
- Random Interview: Eileen Conn, co-ordinator of Peckham Vision
- Diary of the shy Londoner
- Peter Bayley has worked for 50 years as a cinema projectionist in East Finchley
© 2009-2025 Snipe London.