Forget Jenson, well done Clarkson
06 August 2006, 07:55 PM
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Forget Jenson, well done Clarkson
Clarkson has laid down his Manifesto and it makes for entertaining reading:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...300347,00.html
It is also coming surprisingly close to common sense and to what actually needs done in many areas.
Hope it isn't SIAL, did a search and couldn't find this document. Enjoy...
The Sunday Times August 06, 2006
When I am the Mayor of London
Jeremy Clarkson
It seems that while I wasn’t paying attention someone publicly suggested that I stand against Ken Livingstone as the official Tory candidate in the forthcoming elections to find a London mayor.
My initial reaction was predictable. Why should I give up a handsomely paid job which involves driving round corners in a selection of Ferraris and Lamborghinis so that I can earn £134,000 a year, doing something I don’t want to do, for a party I’m not sure about, in a city where I don’t live?
However, since that initial moment of shock and awe, I’ve given the matter some serious thought and I’ve decided that, actually, I’d rather like to give it a shot. I mean, how hard can it be?
Sure, the white paper drawn up to create the post was the largest parliamentary document since the Government of India Act in 1935, but so far as I can tell, the job of running the capital is no harder than being a lift attendant.
For starters, the original white paper stated that the Greater London Authority should have up to 250 staff, at a cost of £20m. But Uncle Ken has blasted through this and employed 630 people at a cost of £60m. And with that lot running around, crossing the i’s and dotting the t’s, what’s left for me to do?
On the first day I’d instruct my people to go out into the capital and get rid of all the bus lanes. And then I’d sell off all the bendy buses to somewhere like Los Angeles, which has big enough roads to handle their vast bulk. Then I’d go to the Ivy for lunch.
On Tuesday I’d look out of the window for a bit and marvel at how the traffic was moving freely. And then I’d go to the Caprice. And in the afternoon I’d have a nap. Then, in the evening, I’d put the mayoral eco-car on eBay and buy a Range Rover.
Wednesday is when we record Top Gear, so I’d pop down to Surrey and drive round some corners in a Lamborghini. And then I’d go back to London in the Range Rover and maybe take in a show.
You think I’m joking here. But I’m not. Uncle Ken is plainly so bored that he spends his day thumbing through The Observer’s Book of Despots, seeing which swivel-eyed lunatic he can have round for dinner that night. So far he’s had Islamic cleric Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who spends his free time urging people to beat up their wives and throw stones at homosexuals.
And then of course he played host to the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, who after just six months in office has even managed to upset the Swedes. They’re so cross with him they’ve refused to sell him any more Saabs, which must have shaken him to the core.
I’m not sure who I’d have round. Probably one of those **** stars that keep being elected to non-jobs in Italy. But whatever, on Thursday I’d reintroduce foxhunting to the boroughs of Islington and Hackney. You might think this provocative, encouraging men in hunting pinks to gallop around Tofu central, but it’s no more offensive than Ken’s obsession with “ethnic inclusivity” in places like Kensington and Chelsea. And there’d be fewer upturned wheelie bins for the bin men to worry about.
I suppose I should have a look at the congestion charge, too. I’ve thought about this and I’ve decided there’d be a charge of £50 a day for all cars, which would keep tatty rubbish out of the city, and £500 a day for bicycles. Anyone who’s too mean to buy a car is too mean to spend anything in the shops, so there’s no point having them. They can go to Dunstable instead, or Bedford, and not spend anything there.
Implementing this would take, what, 15 minutes. Which means that by Friday I’d be a bit stumped for something to do. Maybe I’d call the police who would be under my command and tell them to catch some burglars.
Oh no, wait. I know. I’d get someone to replace the statue of that woman with no arms and legs in Trafalgar Square with a full-size bronze model of a Spitfire.
Of course, this life of leisure presumes that I’d get elected in the first place, but I can’t see this presents too much of a problem. I mean, Ken has a pool of 381,790 voters on whom he can call — this being the current circulation of The Guardian. That means there are 5.6m Londoners who don’t want their town hall full of marketing assistants and equality advisers.
I’d therefore replace them with a team who’d look into ways of changing the Notting Hill carnival into an annual drag race for monster trucks. And I’d pass a law banning people from entering the London marathon in diving suits or chicken outfits. This kind of thing is acceptable at provincial fancy dress parties, but if your outfit prevents you from finishing the race within six hours, don’t come crying to me if you’re mown down by a stockbroker in a BMW.
In the second week I’d sell the mayoral offices to a property developer, sack the 630 staff and, after turning out the lights, sack myself. Because when you actually stop and think about it, a London authority is a tier of government we can’t afford and don’t need.
There. That’s my manifesto. Still think I’m a good idea, Dave?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...300347,00.html
It is also coming surprisingly close to common sense and to what actually needs done in many areas.
Hope it isn't SIAL, did a search and couldn't find this document. Enjoy...
The Sunday Times August 06, 2006
When I am the Mayor of London
Jeremy Clarkson
It seems that while I wasn’t paying attention someone publicly suggested that I stand against Ken Livingstone as the official Tory candidate in the forthcoming elections to find a London mayor.
My initial reaction was predictable. Why should I give up a handsomely paid job which involves driving round corners in a selection of Ferraris and Lamborghinis so that I can earn £134,000 a year, doing something I don’t want to do, for a party I’m not sure about, in a city where I don’t live?
However, since that initial moment of shock and awe, I’ve given the matter some serious thought and I’ve decided that, actually, I’d rather like to give it a shot. I mean, how hard can it be?
Sure, the white paper drawn up to create the post was the largest parliamentary document since the Government of India Act in 1935, but so far as I can tell, the job of running the capital is no harder than being a lift attendant.
For starters, the original white paper stated that the Greater London Authority should have up to 250 staff, at a cost of £20m. But Uncle Ken has blasted through this and employed 630 people at a cost of £60m. And with that lot running around, crossing the i’s and dotting the t’s, what’s left for me to do?
On the first day I’d instruct my people to go out into the capital and get rid of all the bus lanes. And then I’d sell off all the bendy buses to somewhere like Los Angeles, which has big enough roads to handle their vast bulk. Then I’d go to the Ivy for lunch.
On Tuesday I’d look out of the window for a bit and marvel at how the traffic was moving freely. And then I’d go to the Caprice. And in the afternoon I’d have a nap. Then, in the evening, I’d put the mayoral eco-car on eBay and buy a Range Rover.
Wednesday is when we record Top Gear, so I’d pop down to Surrey and drive round some corners in a Lamborghini. And then I’d go back to London in the Range Rover and maybe take in a show.
You think I’m joking here. But I’m not. Uncle Ken is plainly so bored that he spends his day thumbing through The Observer’s Book of Despots, seeing which swivel-eyed lunatic he can have round for dinner that night. So far he’s had Islamic cleric Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who spends his free time urging people to beat up their wives and throw stones at homosexuals.
And then of course he played host to the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, who after just six months in office has even managed to upset the Swedes. They’re so cross with him they’ve refused to sell him any more Saabs, which must have shaken him to the core.
I’m not sure who I’d have round. Probably one of those **** stars that keep being elected to non-jobs in Italy. But whatever, on Thursday I’d reintroduce foxhunting to the boroughs of Islington and Hackney. You might think this provocative, encouraging men in hunting pinks to gallop around Tofu central, but it’s no more offensive than Ken’s obsession with “ethnic inclusivity” in places like Kensington and Chelsea. And there’d be fewer upturned wheelie bins for the bin men to worry about.
I suppose I should have a look at the congestion charge, too. I’ve thought about this and I’ve decided there’d be a charge of £50 a day for all cars, which would keep tatty rubbish out of the city, and £500 a day for bicycles. Anyone who’s too mean to buy a car is too mean to spend anything in the shops, so there’s no point having them. They can go to Dunstable instead, or Bedford, and not spend anything there.
Implementing this would take, what, 15 minutes. Which means that by Friday I’d be a bit stumped for something to do. Maybe I’d call the police who would be under my command and tell them to catch some burglars.
Oh no, wait. I know. I’d get someone to replace the statue of that woman with no arms and legs in Trafalgar Square with a full-size bronze model of a Spitfire.
Of course, this life of leisure presumes that I’d get elected in the first place, but I can’t see this presents too much of a problem. I mean, Ken has a pool of 381,790 voters on whom he can call — this being the current circulation of The Guardian. That means there are 5.6m Londoners who don’t want their town hall full of marketing assistants and equality advisers.
I’d therefore replace them with a team who’d look into ways of changing the Notting Hill carnival into an annual drag race for monster trucks. And I’d pass a law banning people from entering the London marathon in diving suits or chicken outfits. This kind of thing is acceptable at provincial fancy dress parties, but if your outfit prevents you from finishing the race within six hours, don’t come crying to me if you’re mown down by a stockbroker in a BMW.
In the second week I’d sell the mayoral offices to a property developer, sack the 630 staff and, after turning out the lights, sack myself. Because when you actually stop and think about it, a London authority is a tier of government we can’t afford and don’t need.
There. That’s my manifesto. Still think I’m a good idea, Dave?
06 August 2006, 08:27 PM
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Didn't Ken describe the Tiananmen Square massacre as "being similar to the poll tax riots."
I mean you couldn't make it up. People of London voted for him in their droves. They must be as stupid as Ken. Was the alternative a three week old festering corpse?
Oh no, it was Frank Dobson.
Steve
I mean you couldn't make it up. People of London voted for him in their droves. They must be as stupid as Ken. Was the alternative a three week old festering corpse?
Oh no, it was Frank Dobson.
Steve
07 August 2006, 11:15 AM
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I have some concerns about his £500 extension of the Kengestion Charge but on the other hand if he removes all the "engineered congestion" such as bus lanes then there will be no congestion to charge people for, so I think it will work out OK in the end.
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07 August 2006, 11:52 AM
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some time ago he was on a chat show with a theory I thought was excellent.
Apparently one in eight drivers in london is looking for a parking space, so he suggested a review of all the non parking zones and yellow lines to increase the number of available parking spaces and decrease the traffic circulating.
I actually thought it was a brilliant idea but it was lost in the comedy of the interview.
Apparently one in eight drivers in london is looking for a parking space, so he suggested a review of all the non parking zones and yellow lines to increase the number of available parking spaces and decrease the traffic circulating.
I actually thought it was a brilliant idea but it was lost in the comedy of the interview.
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