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praise or in condemnation. At one point, the Sun termed him the “most odious man in Britain”
(D’Arcy and MacLean, 2000). As with Ventura, this name recognition was crucial to running a
maverick campaign.
Running a different Campaign
As the office of Mayor of London was a new position, Livingstone did not have to face a
potentially popular incumbent, thereby increasing his chances of victory. An ICM/Guardian poll
taken immediately following Livingstone’s decision to run as an independent candidate showed
that he had a commanding lead over the remainder of the field. 68% of those queried stated that
they supported Livingstone, including 75% of Labour voters, 70% of Liberal Democrats; and
48% of Conservatives. Livingstone led all other candidates even within their own parties. Even
the Livingstone campaign admitted that these numbers could not be sustained, and that their
primary goal was to stem the any decline and to ensure that their candidate finished in the top
two of the initial ballot, with the belief that his cross party support would enable him easily win
on the second count (D’Arcy and MacLean, 2000). The campaign largely concerned itself with
keeping this advantage and not alienating Labour party loyalists through his decision to run as an
independent.
Livingstone routinely spent several hours each day traveling through London on a large
purple bus, bellowing out campaign slogans over a loudspeaker. These campaign slogans did not
follow feature traditional party dogma or rhetoric, and instead emphasized his iconoclastic sense
of humor. He offered such witticisms as “This is Ken Livingstone, your independent candidate,
promising you the earth” and “This is Ken Livingstone, your regular cheeky, chappy. If you vote
for me the weather will improve dramatically.” Clearly outside of the political mainstream,
Livingstone sought to capitalize on his willingness to outrage and unwillingness to take himself
too seriously. Such antics gave him constant press coverage. While editorialists of all political
Convention