好色先生TV

Central to his campaign was opposition to the privatisation of London Underground 鈥� after being elected, he labelled bidders Balfour Beatty, Jarvis and Mowlem 鈥渢he worst scum of modern British capitalism鈥�. He also warned that social housing would have to make up half of all future development in London. As if.

Livingstone continued to oppose the government鈥檚 plans for the Tube, clashing repeatedly with deputy prime minister John Prescott over the issue, and at one stage taking the government to court. The PPP happened anyway, and contracts were duly won by the Metronet consortium of Atkins, Balfour Beatty and Bombardier, and the Tube Lines team of Amey and Bechtel.

As Livingstone had predicted, Metronet was a disaster. It went into administration in 2007 and was taken over by the public sector in 2008. In June 2009, the National Audit Office estimated that this cost the taxpayer up to 拢410m, adding that 鈥渕ost of the blame for Metronet's collapse lay with the consortium itself鈥�.

Ken鈥檚 enthusiasm for London鈥檚 new generation of tall buildings gave him further chance to practice his talent for invective. He called English Heritage 鈥渢he Taliban of British architecture鈥� after it criticised his fondness for tall buildings.

Livingstone was eventually replaced by Tory rival Boris Johnson in 2008, who brought his own particular brand of flim-flam and whiff-whaff to the capital.