Livingstone Out as Mayor of London

And what a blow it is for the Labour Party: Ken Livingstone, dubbed "Red Ken" by critics for his far-left views, was defeated today by Boris Johnson, shadow minister for higher education in the Conservative Party. (Livingstone is the one holding his nose in the photo, standing next to his competitor.) It's also a blow for Gordon Brown, as the reverberations are felt all the way to 10 Downing Street, as the Times of London reports:

"Boris Johnson sealed a nightmarish first electoral test for Gordon Brown, surging to a hugely symbolic victory for the Conservatives in London.

Mr Johnson claimed the largest prize of a triumphant day for David Cameron by ending Ken Livingstone’s eight-year reign as London Mayor. He said that he did not believe that his victory meant that London was a Conservative city, but pledged to work 'flat out' to earn the trust of those who doubted his capability and commitment to the job.

Mr Livingstone, fighting back tears, said that the fault for his defeat was entirely his own.

Mr Brown suffered humilation across the country as the party lost an astonishing 331 seats. It was Labour’s worst election night for 40 years, leaving its local government and campaigning base severely weakened and ministers fearing for their survival at the next general election...."

In Livingstone and Johnson, we see polar opposites in the realm of comments that stirred things up. Livingstone once compared a Jewish reporter to a "concentration camp guard" and blamed foreign policy for the 7/7 train and bus bombings, and Johnson wondered in his onetime column in the Spectator "When is someone going to get 18th century on Islam’s mediaeval a**?"

(Photo by Cate Gillon/Getty Images)