London mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone has stormed out of an interview with a local newspaper in the capital.
The Labour ex-mayor was being quizzed by Croydon Advertiser reporter David Churchill when he got up and walked out.
The newspaper, which has also interviewed Conservative Boris Johnson and Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick as part of its election coverage, awarded Ken nul points in its ‘Croydon Quiz’ designed to test their local knowledge.
It has now published a full account of the interview on its website which can be read here.
The in-depth interview had gone relatively smoothly until David tried to introduce his ‘quick fire quiz.’
After failing to name Croydon’s main theatre, Ken was asked the name of Crystal Palace Football Club’s ground.
At this point he retorted: “I’m sorry, if I want to do a quiz I’ll go on Radio 4. I mean seriously, this is trivial nonsense.”
He went on: “I think people in Croydon want to know can I create jobs, bring transport infrastructure. I’m not going to do a crossword for you either. I’m not doing it for you or anybody else. I think it’s trivial. It’s everything that is wrong with the British media. What do you want me to do next, kiss a model?”
Undaunted, David then asked: “What is the population of Croydon?”
Ken responded “very large” before walking out of the interview.
Advertiser editor Glenn Ebrey told HTFP: “A quick internet search reveals Mr Livingstone has appeared on shows including Chris Moyles’ Quiz Night, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Take-Away and Have I Got News for You, on which he has been a panelist on no fewer than nine separate occasions.
“On this evidence, he would seem to be a man who enjoys a quiz. Perhaps Croydon isn’t his specialist subject.”
The Advertiser also ran the same quiz with the other two main mayoral candidates, who were happy to answer the five questions.
Boris Johnson scored 2.5 out of 5 while Brian Paddick scored 1.
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Great story!
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And yet no mention of it on the front page of their website . . .
http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/home
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Localhack – looks like it was off temporarily. Northcliffe’s websites are very restrictive.
Great story by the way. It’s pretty basic politics that even if you think something like that is trivial, you endure it because or end up looking like a complete numpty. The quiz itself was a tiny part of a double page interview, so Ken had plenty of opportunity to put across his serious policies. The sad fact of the matter is that a sizeable majority of the population have no interest in the nitty gritty side of politics, so you need something lighthearted to draw them in. Besides, when he was Mayor, Ken was accused of neglecting the outer London boroughs, so the paper is within is rights to ask whether he’s brushed up on his knowledge since then.
Another reason I won’t be voting Ken come May 3.
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Ken will no doubt cite his abhorrence at the dumbing-down of both media and politics as a reason for walking out on this interview. Yet he is part of a mayoral race that has turned into a complete pantomime. He is obviously seriously scared that Boris’ buffoonery goes down so well with so many potential Ken voters and simply doesn’t know how to deal with it.
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This is brilliant – it just goes to show that Ken Livingstone is still of the view that he is just too good for certain things – “if I want to do a quiz I’ll go on Radio 4.”
I’m not a fan of Boris, but I have attended press events where he’s been and he was always happy to play ball. Seems that whatever my political views, the Tories remain the more media savvy of the parties.
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