PR Week Echo Columns

Press on the left and right of the political spectrum rounded on Ken Livingstone, but those in the centre largely ignored his latest spat with the C4 Dispatches programme aired on 21 Jan. Both the Guardian and the Daily Mail/Evening Standard took the opportunity to stick several knives into Livingstone's campaign for re-election as London's mayor: "The mayor's impossible style has been encouraged by his personal power" (Leader, Guardian, 22 Jan). The documentary was fronted by Martin Bright, political editor of the New Statesman, a position which gave extra fuel to his claim that "a vote for Livingstone is a vote for a bully and a coward" (Evening Standard, 21 Jan).
Worse criticism centred on the fact that Livingstone has surrounded himself with a cabal of 'secretive' Socialist Action supporters who he used to break funding guidelines in the run-up to the last election. The mayor's office issued strong rebuttals calling the source, Atma Singh, an "embittered ex-employee" (Sunday Times, 20 Jan). The Evening Standard highlighted Ken Livingstone's "astonishing and shocking drinking habits" (22 Jan). Support for the mayor was thin on the ground, although Gordon Brown was briefly reported as saying "He has a proven record of success" (Evening Standard, 21 Jan).