by Simeon Brody
It seems that Conservative Boris Johnson is 11 points clear of his Labour rival Ken Livingstone in the race to become London Mayor.
In his latest attempt to fight back, Livingstone is teaming up with the Green Party, which has traditionally had quite a good showing in London.
I'm not going to argue about the politics but about the pernicious effect of the free sheet newspapers that have come to litter our pavements and train carriages over the past couple of years and, it seems, changed the political climate in the capital.
London has a long left-wing history but the two free main free papers are both owned by the right wing media empires that own the Daily Mail and Sun respectively. While they both have a non-political veneer and seem to primarily offer a diet of re-written newswire copy and celebrity tat, they do also carry a subliminal political message.
Johnson appears to have received excellent and almost wholly positive coverage from both titles, while Livingstone has faced relentless criticism. Can this daily diet have had no impact on the millions of commuters who read the papers every day?
I doubt it.
The press like Boris coz he bumbles around entertaining them. They don't give a monkeys about what his policies really are; actually I don't think he does! Livingstone is a survivor. He's lived with bad press for years and still gets elected. There's no question that most Londoners can see that the place has become much smarter, more pedestrian friendly, more entertainng and spectacular under Livingstone. Agree: the London Lite and the London Paper are ghastly things, they are barely good for a 10 minute train journey. Not even any good celebrity gossip in them. At the fifth mention of Lindsay Lohan (by page 4) I usually cast the wretched thing aside...
Don't be fooled by the bumbling - I believe Boris to be a demon wearing a buffoon-suit. Be very afraid...