Boris V. Ken

The battle to become Mayor of London is the liveliest and most sensational ever. Ken Livingstone, the incumbent Mayor for eight years, since its inception, is being challenged by a Conservative candidate with the real possibility of unseating him, Boris Johnson. To be published immediately after the election of 1 May, this book will provide a fun and accessible report and analysis of one of the liveliest election campaigns ever. In 2008, the public is perhaps growing just a bit weary of Ken Livingstone's particular brand of 'colourful' behaviour.This most media-savvy of characters faces an even bigger ego - Boris Johnson, Tory MP, newspaper and magazine columnist and television personality. Joining them in the race will be a former senior commander in the Metropolitan Police and a highly telegenic Green, who may possibly play key roles with the important second-choice votes that could decide the outcome. The book will look at the politics, the election itself, the candidates, and of course the results and what they mean for Londoners. The next Mayor, after all, will have to prepare for the Olympics and tackle London's transport mess, worries about terrorism and crime, and the capital's housing shortage.