Ken Livingstone
Introduction


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		**Kenneth Robert Livingstone** (born 17 June 1945\) is an English retired politician who served as the Leader of the [Greater London Council](/wiki/Greater_London_Council "Greater London Council") (GLC) from 1981 until the council was [abolished in 1986](/wiki/Local_Government_Act_1985 "Local Government Act 1985"), and as [Mayor of London](/wiki/Mayor_of_London "Mayor of London") from the [creation of the office in 2000](/wiki/Greater_London_Authority_Act_1999 "Greater London Authority Act 1999") until [2008](/wiki/2008_London_mayoral_election "2008 London mayoral election"). He also served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for [Brent East](/wiki/Brent_East "Brent East") from [1987](/wiki/1987_United_Kingdom_general_election "1987 United Kingdom general election") to [2001](/wiki/2001_United_Kingdom_general_election "2001 United Kingdom general election"). A former member of the [Labour Party](/wiki/Labour_Party_%28UK%29 "Labour Party (UK)"), he was on the party's [hard left](/wiki/Hard_left "Hard left"), ideologically identifying as a [socialist](/wiki/Socialist "Socialist").

Born in [Lambeth](/wiki/Lambeth "Lambeth"), [South London](/wiki/South_London "South London"), to a working\-class family, Livingstone joined Labour in 1968 and was elected to represent [Norwood](/wiki/Norwood_%28electoral_division%29 "Norwood (electoral division)") at the GLC in [1973](/wiki/1973_Greater_London_Council_election "1973 Greater London Council election"), [Hackney North and Stoke Newington](/wiki/Hackney_North_and_Stoke_Newington_%28electoral_division%29 "Hackney North and Stoke Newington (electoral division)") in [1977](/wiki/1977_Greater_London_Council_election "1977 Greater London Council election"), and [Paddington](/wiki/Paddington_%28electoral_division%29 "Paddington (electoral division)") in [1981](/wiki/1981_Greater_London_Council_election "1981 Greater London Council election"). That year, Labour representatives on the GLC elected him as the council's leader. Attempting to [reduce London Underground fares](/wiki/Fares_Fair "Fares Fair"), his plans were challenged in court and declared unlawful; more successful were his schemes to benefit women and several minority groups, despite stiff opposition. The mainstream press gave him the moniker "Red Ken" in reference to his socialist beliefs and criticised him for supporting [republicanism](/wiki/Republicanism_in_the_United_Kingdom "Republicanism in the United Kingdom"), [LGBT rights](/wiki/LGBT_rights "LGBT rights"), and a [United Ireland](/wiki/United_Ireland "United Ireland"). Livingstone was a vocal opponent of the [Conservative Party](/wiki/Conservative_Party_%28UK%29 "Conservative Party (UK)") government of Prime Minister [Margaret Thatcher](/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher "Margaret Thatcher"), which in 1986 abolished the GLC. Elected as MP for Brent East in 1987, he became closely associated with [anti\-racist](/wiki/Anti-racist "Anti-racist") campaigns. He attempted to stand for the position of [Labour Party leader](/wiki/Leader_of_the_Labour_Party_%28UK%29 "Leader of the Labour Party (UK)") following [Neil Kinnock](/wiki/Neil_Kinnock "Neil Kinnock")'s resignation in [1992](/wiki/1992_Labour_Party_leadership_election_%28UK%29 "1992 Labour Party leadership election (UK)"), but failed to get enough nominations. Livingstone became a vocal critic of [Tony Blair](/wiki/Tony_Blair "Tony Blair")'s [New Labour](/wiki/New_Labour "New Labour") project that pushed the party closer to the [political centre](/wiki/Political_centre "Political centre") and won the [1997 general election](/wiki/1997_United_Kingdom_general_election "1997 United Kingdom general election").

After failing to become Labour's candidate in the [2000 London mayoral election](/wiki/2000_London_mayoral_election "2000 London mayoral election"), Livingstone successfully contested the election as an [independent candidate](/wiki/Independent_candidate "Independent candidate"). In his first term as Mayor of London, he introduced the [congestion charge](/wiki/London_congestion_charge "London congestion charge"), [Oyster card](/wiki/Oyster_card "Oyster card"), and [articulated buses](/wiki/Articulated_bus "Articulated bus"), and unsuccessfully opposed the privatisation of [London Underground](/wiki/London_Underground "London Underground"). Despite his opposition to Blair's government on issues like the [Iraq War](/wiki/Iraq_War "Iraq War"), Livingstone was invited to stand for re\-election as Labour's candidate. [Re\-elected in 2004](/wiki/2004_London_mayoral_election "2004 London mayoral election"), he expanded his transport policies, introduced new environmental regulations, and enacted civil rights reforms. Overseeing London's winning bid to host the [2012 Summer Olympics](/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics "2012 Summer Olympics") and ushering in a major redevelopment of the city's [East End](/wiki/East_End "East End"), his leadership after the [7 July 2005 London bombings](/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings "7 July 2005 London bombings") was widely praised. After losing both the [2008](/wiki/2008_London_mayoral_election "2008 London mayoral election") and [2012](/wiki/2012_London_mayoral_election "2012 London mayoral election") London mayoral elections to the Conservative candidate [Boris Johnson](/wiki/Boris_Johnson "Boris Johnson"), Livingstone became a key ally of Labour leader [Jeremy Corbyn](/wiki/Jeremy_Corbyn "Jeremy Corbyn") in 2015\. A longstanding critic of [Israeli policy regarding Palestinians](/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict "Israeli–Palestinian conflict"), his comments about the relationship between [Adolf Hitler](/wiki/Adolf_Hitler "Adolf Hitler") and [Zionism](/wiki/Zionism "Zionism") resulted in his 2016 suspension from Labour. He resigned from the party in 2018\.

Characterised by [Charles Moore](/wiki/Charles_Moore%2C_Baron_Moore_of_Etchingham "Charles Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham") as "the only truly successful left\-wing British politician of modern times", Livingstone was a controversial and polarising figure. Supporters praised his efforts to improve rights for women, LGBT people, and ethnic minorities in London, but critics emphasised allegations of [cronyism](/wiki/Cronyism "Cronyism") and [antisemitism](/wiki/Antisemitism "Antisemitism"), and criticised his connections to [Islamists](/wiki/Islamists "Islamists") and [Irish republicans](/wiki/Irish_republicans "Irish republicans").


How was Livingstone characterized by Charles Moore?