Becoming leader of the GLC: 1979–1981 Inspired by the Bennites, Livingstone planned a GLC take-over; on 18 October 1979, he called a meeting of Labour leftists titled "Taking over the GLC", beginning publication of monthly newsletter the
London Labour Briefing. Focused on increasing leftist power in the London Labour Party, he urged socialists to stand as candidates in the upcoming GLC election. When the time came to choose who would lead London Labour in that election, Livingstone put his name down, but was challenged by the moderate
Andrew McIntosh; in the April 1980 vote, McIntosh beat Livingstone by 14 votes to 13. In September 1980, Livingstone separated from his wife Christine, though they remained amicable. Moving into a small flat at 195
Randolph Avenue,
Maida Vale, with his pet reptiles and amphibians, he divorced in October 1982 and began a relationship with
Kate Allen, chair of Camden Council Women's Committee. Livingstone turned his attention to achieving a GLC Labour victory, exchanging his safe seat in Hackney North for the marginal Inner London seat of
Paddington; in May 1981 he won the seat by 2,397 votes. Cutler and the Conservatives learned of Livingstone's plans, proclaiming that a GLC Labour victory would lead to a Marxist takeover of London and then Britain; the Conservative press picked up the story, with the
Daily Express using the headline of "Why We Must Stop These Red Wreckers". The media coverage was ineffective, and the GLC election of May 1981 led to Labour gaining power, with McIntosh installed as Head of the GLC; within 24 hours he was deposed by members of his own party, and replaced by Livingstone. On 7 May, Livingstone called a caucus of his supporters; announcing his intent to challenge McIntosh's leadership, he invited those assembled to stand for other GLC posts. The meeting ended at 4:45pm having agreed on a full slate of candidates. At 5 o'clock, McIntosh held a GLC Labour meeting; the attendees called an immediate leadership election, in which Livingstone defeated him by 30 votes to 20. The entire left caucus slate was then elected. The next day, a leftist coup deposed
Sir Ashley Bramall on the
Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), replacing him with
Bryn Davies; the left group now controlled both the GLC and the ILEA. McIntosh proclaimed the GLC coup illegitimate, asserting that Labour was in danger from a leftist take-over. The mainstream press criticised the coup; the
Daily Mail called Livingstone a "left wing extremist", and
The Sun nicknamed him "Red Ken", stating his victory meant "full-steam-ahead red-blooded Socialism for London." The
Financial Times issued a "warning" that leftists could use such tactics to take control of the government, when "the erosion of our democracy will surely begin." Thatcher joined the rallying call, proclaiming that leftists like Livingstone had "no time for
parliamentary democracy", but were plotting "To impose upon this nation a tyranny which the peoples of
Eastern Europe yearn to cast aside."
Leader of the GLC: 1981–1983 Entering County Hall as GLC leader on 8 May 1981, Livingstone initiated changes, converting the building's
Freemasonic temple into a meeting room and removing many of the privileges enjoyed by GLC members and senior officers. He initiated an open-door policy allowing citizens to hold meetings in the committee rooms free of charge, with County Hall gaining the nickname of "the People's Palace". Livingstone took great pleasure watching the disgust expressed by some Conservative GLC members when non-members began using the building's restaurant. In the
London Labour Briefing, Livingstone announced "London's ours! After the most vicious GLC election of all time, the Labour Party has won a working majority on a radical socialist programme." He stated that their job was to "sustain a holding operation until such time as the Tory [Conservative] government can be brought down and replaced by a left-wing Labour government." There was a perception among Livingstone's allies that they constituted the genuine opposition to Thatcher's government, with Foot's Labour leadership dismissed as ineffectual; they hoped Benn would soon replace him. There was a widespread public perception that Livingstone's GLC leadership was illegitimate, while the mainstream British media remained resolutely hostile. Livingstone received the levels of national press attention normally reserved for senior Members of Parliament. A press interview was arranged with
Max Hastings for the
Evening Standard, in which Livingstone was portrayed as affable but ruthless.
The Sun's editor
Kelvin MacKenzie took a particular interest in Livingstone, establishing a reporting team to 'dig up the dirt' on him; they were unable to uncover any scandalous information, focusing on his interest in amphibians, a hobby mocked by other media sources. The satirical journal
Private Eye referred to him as "Ken Leninspart", a combination of
Vladimir Lenin and the German left-wing group, the
Spartacus League, proceeding to erroneously claim that Livingstone received funding from the
Libyan Jamahiriya. After Livingstone sued them for
libel, in November 1983 the journal apologised, paying him £15,000 in damages in an out-of-court settlement. During 1982, Livingstone made new appointments to the GLC governance, with
John McDonnell appointed key chair of finance and
Valerie Wise chair of the new Women's Committee, while
Sir Ashley Bramall became GLC chairman and Tony McBrearty was appointed chair of housing. Others stayed in their former positions, including Dave Wetzel as transport chair and Mike Ward as chair of industry; thus was created what biographer John Carvel described as "the second Livingstone administration", leading to a "more calm and supportive environment". Turning his attention once more to Parliament, Livingstone sought to be selected as the Labour candidate for the constituency of
Brent East, a place which he felt an "affinity" for and where several of his friends lived. At the time, the Brent East Labour Party was characterised by competing factions, with Livingstone attempting to gain the support of both the hard and soft left. Securing a significant level of support from local party members, he nonetheless failed to apply for the candidacy in time, and so the incumbent centrist
Reg Freeson was once more selected as Labour candidate for Brent East. A subsequent vote at the council meeting revealed that 52 local Labour members would have voted for Livingstone, with only 2 for Freeson and 3 abstentions. Nevertheless, in the
1983 United Kingdom general election, Freeson went on to win the Brent East constituency for Labour. In 1983, Livingstone began co-presenting a late night television chat show with
Janet Street-Porter for
London Weekend Television.
Fares Fair and transport policy The Greater London Labour Manifesto for the 1981 elections, although written under McIntosh's leadership, had been determined by a special conference of the London Labour Party in October 1980 in which Livingstone's speech had been decisive on transport policy. The manifesto focused on job creation schemes and cutting London Transport fares, and it was to these issues that Livingstone's administration turned. One primary manifesto focus had been a pledge known as
Fares Fair, which focused on reducing
London Underground fares and freezing them at that lower rate. Based on a fare freeze implemented by the
South Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council in 1975, it was widely considered to be a moderate and mainstream policy by Labour, which it was hoped would get more Londoners using public transport, thereby reducing congestion. In October 1981, the GLC implemented their policy, cutting London Transport fares by 32%; to fund the move, the GLC planned to increase the London
rates. The legality of the Fares Fair policy was challenged by Dennis Barkway, Conservative leader of the
London Borough of Bromley council, who complained that his constituents were having to pay for cheaper fares on the London Underground when it did not operate in their borough. Although the Divisional Court initially found in favour of the GLC, Bromley Borough took the issue to the
Court of Appeal, where three judges –
Lord Denning,
Lord Justice Oliver and Lord Justice Watkins – reversed the previous decision, finding in favour of Bromley Borough on 10 November. They proclaimed that the Fares Fair policy was illegal because the GLC was expressly forbidden from choosing to run London Transport at a deficit, even if this was in the perceived interest of Londoners. The GLC appealed this decision, taking the case to the
House of Lords; on 17 December five
Law Lords unanimously ruled in favour of Bromley Borough Council, putting a permanent end to the Fares Fair policy. GLC transport chairman Dave Wetzel labelled the judges "Vandals in Ermine" while Livingstone maintained his belief that the judicial decision was politically motivated. Initially presenting a motion to the GLC Labour groups that they refuse to comply with the judicial decision and continue with the policy regardless, but was out-voted by 32–22; many commentators claimed that Livingstone had only been bluffing in order to save face among the Labour Left. Instead, Livingstone got on board with a campaign known as "Keep Fares Fair" in order to bring about a change in the law that would make the Fares Fair policy legal; an alternate movement, "Can't Pay, Won't Pay", accused Livingstone of being a sell-out and insisted that the GLC proceed with its policies regardless of their legality. One aspect of the London Transport reforms was however maintained; the new system of
flat fares within ticket zones, and the inter-modal
Travelcard ticket continues as the basis of the ticketing system. The GLC then put together new measures in the hope of reducing London Transport fares by the more modest amount of 25%, taking them back to roughly the price that they were when Livingstone's administration took office; it was ruled legal in January 1983, and subsequently implemented.
GLEB and nuclear disarmament Livingstone's administration founded the Greater London Enterprise Board (GLEB) to create employment by investing in the industrial regeneration of London, with the funds provided by the council, its workers' pension fund and the financial markets. Livingstone later claimed that GLC bureaucrats obstructed much of what GLEB tried to achieve. Other policies implemented by the Labour Left also foundered. Attempts to prevent the sale-off of GLC council housing largely failed, in part due to the strong opposition from the Conservative government. ILEA attempted to carry through with its promise to cut the price of
school meals in the capital from 35p to 25p, but was forced to abandon its plans following legal advice that the councillors could be made to pay the surcharge and disqualified from public office. The Livingstone administration took a strong stance on the issue of
nuclear disarmament, proclaiming London a "
nuclear-free zone". On 20 May 1981, the GLC halted its annual spending of £1 million on nuclear war defence plans, with Livingstone's deputy, Illtyd Harrington, proclaiming that "we are challenging... the absurd cosmetic approach to Armageddon." They published the names of the 3000 politicians and administrators who had been earmarked for survival in underground bunkers in the event of a nuclear strike on London. Thatcher's government remained highly critical of these moves, putting out a propaganda campaign explaining their argument for the necessity of Britain's
nuclear deterrent to counter the
Soviet Union.
Egalitarian policies Livingstone's administration advocated measures to improve the lives of minorities within London, who together made up a sizeable percentage of the city's population; what
Reg Race called "the Rainbow Coalition". The GLC allocated a small percentage of its expenditure on funding minority community groups, including the London Gay Teenage Group,
English Collective of Prostitutes, Women Against Rape, Lesbian Line, A Woman's Place, and Rights of Women. Believing these groups could initiate social change, the GLC increased its annual funding of voluntary organisations from £6 million in 1980 to £50 million in 1984. They provided loans to such groups, coming under a barrage of press criticism for awarding a loan to the
Sheba Feminist Publishers, whose works were widely labelled pornographic. In July 1981, Livingstone founded the Ethnic Minorities Committee, the Police Committee, and the Gay and Lesbian Working Party, and in June 1982, a Women's Committee was also established. Believing the
Metropolitan Police to be a racist organisation, he appointed
Paul Boateng to head the Police Committee and monitor the force's activities. Considering the police a highly political organisation, he publicly remarked that "When you canvas police flats at election time, you find that they are either Conservatives who think of Thatcher as a bit of a pinko or they are
National Front." The Conservatives and mainstream press were largely critical of these measures, considering them symptomatic of what they termed the "
loony left". Claiming that these only served "fringe" interests, their criticisms often exhibited
racist,
homophobic and
sexist sentiment. A number of journalists fabricated stories designed to discredit Livingstone and the "loony left", for instance claiming that the GLC made its workers drink only Nicaraguan coffee in solidarity with
the country's socialist government, and that
Haringey Council leader
Bernie Grant had banned the use of the term "black bin liner" and the rhyme "
Baa Baa Black Sheep", because they were perceived as racially insensitive. Writing in 2008, BBC reporter Andrew Hosken noted that although most of Livingstone's GLC administration's policies were ultimately a failure, its role in helping change social attitudes towards women and minorities in London remained its "enduring legacy".
Republicanism, Ireland and the Labour Herald Invited to the
Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at
St Paul's Cathedral in July 1981, Livingstone – a
republican critical of the monarchy – wished the couple well but turned down the offer. He also permitted
Irish republican protesters to hold a vigil on the steps of County Hall throughout the wedding celebrations, both actions that brought strong press criticism. His administration supported the People's March for Jobs, a demonstration of 500 anti-unemployment protesters who marched to London from Northern England, allowing them to sleep in County Hall and catering for them. Costing £19,000, critics argued that Livingstone was illegally using public money for his own political causes. The GLC orchestrated a propaganda campaign against Thatcher's government, in January 1982 erecting a sign on the top of County Hall – clearly visible from the
Houses of Parliament – stating the number of unemployed in London. In September 1981, a weekly newspaper, the
Labour Herald, was announced with Livingstone,
Ted Knight and Matthew Warburton as co-editors. It was published by a press owned by the Trotskyist
Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP), who had financed it with funding from Libya and other countries in the middle east. Evidence is lacking to indicate Livingstone knew about the funding at the time. Livingstone's commercial relationship with WRP leader
Gerry Healy was controversial among British socialists, many of whom disapproved of Healy's reputation for violence. In the newspaper in 1982, perceiving a neglect by Labour of the Israel-Palestine conflict, Livingstone wrote of "a distortion running right the way through British politics" because "a majority of Jews in this country supported the Labour Party and elected a number of Jewish Labour MPs". The
Labour Herald folded in 1985, after Healy was accused of being a sex offender and he was expelled from the WRP. A supporter of
Irish reunification, Livingstone had connections with the left-wing Irish republican party
Sinn Féin and in July, met with the mother of an imprisoned
Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) militant
Thomas McElwee, then taking part in the
1981 Irish hunger strike. That day, Livingstone publicly proclaimed his support for those prisoners on hunger strike, claiming that the British government's fight against the IRA was not "some sort of campaign against
terrorism" but was "the last colonial war". He was criticised for this meeting and his statements in the mainstream press, while Prime Minister Thatcher claimed that his comments constituted "the most disgraceful statement I have ever heard." Soon after, he also met with the children of Yvonne Dunlop, an Irish Protestant who had been killed in McElwee's bomb attack. On 10 October, the IRA bombed London's
Chelsea Barracks, killing 2 and injuring 40. Denouncing the attack, Livingstone informed members of the
Cambridge University Tory Reform Group that it was a misunderstanding to view the IRA as "criminals or lunatics" because of their political motives and that "violence will recur again and again as long as we are in Ireland." Mainstream press criticised him for these comments, with
The Sun labeling him "the most odious man in Britain". In response, Livingstone proclaimed that the press coverage had been "ill-founded, utterly out of context and distorted", reiterating his opposition both to IRA attacks and British rule in Northern Ireland. Anti-Livingstone pressure mounted and on 15 October he was attacked in the street by members of unionist militia, The Friends of Ulster. In a second incident, Livingstone was attacked by
far right skinheads shouting "commie bastard" at the Three Horseshoes Pub in Hampstead. Known as "Green Ken" among
Ulster Unionists, Unionist paramilitary
Michael Stone of the
Ulster Defence Association plotted to kill Livingstone, only abandoning the plan when he became convinced that the security services were monitoring him. Livingstone agreed to meet
Gerry Adams, Sinn Féin President and IRA-supporter, after Adams was invited to London by Labour members of the Troops Out campaign in December 1982. The same day as the invitation was made, the
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
bombed The Droppin Well bar in
Ballykelly, County Londonderry, killing 11 soldiers and six civilians; in the aftermath, Livingstone was pressured to cancel the meeting. Expressing his horror at the bombing, Livingstone insisted that the meeting proceed, for Adams had no connection with the INLA, but Conservative Home Secretary
Willie Whitelaw banned Adams' entry to Britain with the
1976 Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act. In February 1983, Livingstone visited Adams in his constituency of
West Belfast, receiving a hero's welcome from local republicans. In July 1983, Adams finally came to London by invitation of Livingstone and MP
Jeremy Corbyn, allowing him to present his views to a mainstream British audience through televised interviews. In August, Livingstone was interviewed on Irish state radio, proclaiming that Britain's 800-year occupation of Ireland was more destructive than the
Holocaust; he was publicly criticised by Labour members and the press. He also controversially expressed solidarity with the
Marxist–Leninist government of
Fidel Castro in Cuba against the
U.S. economic embargo, in return receiving an annual Christmas gift of Cuban rum from the Cuban embassy. Courting further controversy, in the
Falklands War of 1982, during which the United Kingdom battled Argentina for control of the
Falkland Islands, Livingstone stated his belief that the islands rightfully belonged to the Argentinian people, but not the military junta then ruling the country. Upon British victory, he sarcastically remarked that "Britain had finally been able to beat the hell out of a country smaller, weaker and even worse governed than we were." Challenging the Conservative government's militarism, the GLC proclaimed 1983 to be "Peace Year", solidifying ties with the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in order to advocate international
nuclear disarmament, a measure opposed by the Thatcher government. In keeping with this pacifistic outlook, they banned the
Territorial Army from marching past County Hall that year. The GLC then proclaimed 1984 to be "Anti-Racism Year". In July 1985, the GLC twinned London with the Nicaraguan city of
Managua, then under the control of the socialist
Sandinista National Liberation Front. The press continued to criticise the Livingstone administration's funding of volunteer groups that they perceived represented only "fringe interests". As Livingstone biographer Andrew Hosken remarked, "by far the most contentious grant" was given in February 1983 to a group called Babies Against the Bomb, founded by a group of mothers who had united to campaign against nuclear weapons. Members of London Labour groups chastised Livingstone for his controversial statements, believing them detrimental to the party, leading Labour members and supporters to defect to the
Social Democratic Party (SDP). Many highlighted Labour's failure to secure the seat in the
1981 Croydon North West by-election as a sign of Labour's prospects under Livingstone. Some called for Livingstone's removal, but Michael Foot's assistant Una Cooze defended Livingstone's position. Television and radio outlets invited Livingstone for interviews; described by biographer John Carvel as having "one of the best television styles of any contemporary politician", Livingstone used this medium to speak to a wider audience, gaining widespread public support, something Carvel attributed to his "directness, self-deprecation, colourful language, complete unflappability under fire and lack of pomposity", coupled with popular policies like Fares Fair.
Abolition of the GLC: 1983–1986 The
1983 general election proved disastrous for Labour, as much of their support went to the Social Democrat-Liberal Alliance, and Thatcher entered her second term in office. Foot was replaced by
Neil Kinnock, a man Livingstone considered "repellent". Livingstone publicly attributed Labour's electoral failure to the leading role that the party's capitalist wing had played, arguing that the party should promote a socialist program of "national reconstruction", overseeing the nationalisation of banks and major industry and allowing for the investment in new development. Considering it a waste of rate payer's money, Thatcher's government was keen to abolish the GLC and
devolve control to the Greater London
boroughs, stating its intention to do so in its 1983 electoral manifesto.
Secretary of State for Employment Norman Tebbit lambasted the GLC as "Labour-dominated, high-spending and at odds with the government's view of the world"; Livingstone commented that there was "a huge gulf between the cultural values of the GLC Labour group and everything that Mrs Thatcher considered right and proper." The government felt confident that there was sufficient opposition to Livingstone's administration that they could abolish the GLC: according to a
MORI poll in April 1983, 58% of Londoners were dissatisfied and 26% satisfied with Livingstone. Attempting to fight the proposals, the GLC devoted £11 million to a campaign led by
Reg Race focusing on press campaigning, advertising, and parliamentary lobbying. The campaign sent Livingstone on a party roadshow conference in which he convinced the Liberal and Social Democratic parties to oppose abolition. Using the slogan "say no to no say", they publicly highlighted that without the GLC, London would be the only capital city in Western Europe without a directly elected body. The campaign was successful, with polls indicating majority support among Londoners for retaining the Council, and in March 1984, 20,000 public servants held a 24-hour strike in support. The government nevertheless remained committed to abolition, and in June 1984 the House of Commons passed the
Local Government Act 1985 with 237 votes in favour and 217 against. Livingstone and three senior GLC members resigned their seats in August 1984, to force byelections on the issue of abolition, but the Conservatives declined to contest them and all four were comfortably re-elected on a low turnout. The GLC was formally abolished at midnight on 31 March 1986, with Livingstone marking the occasion by holding a free concert at
Festival Hall. In his capacity as former leader of the GLC, Livingstone was invited to visit Australia, Israel, and Zimbabwe in the following months by leftist groups in those countries, before he and Allen undertook a 5-week Himalayan trek to the base camp of
Mount Everest. ==Member of Parliament==