I Hope He is Joking

Matthew Parris says he is planning to set up a 'Tories for Ken' campaign

Rumours circulate that Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, has hinted that if the Government rats on its promises to go ahead with the London Crossrail project, he will leave the Labour Party and stand in the 2008 mayoral elections as an independent.

The problem with this idea is that Ken Livingstone doesn't make the decision either way. The money comes from central government. Lobbying for cash from the centre, is of course the easiest game in the book.