Re: what's the GLC? - the answer

[am672@freenet.carleton.ca (David J. Zimmerly)]

 (stephan@nextstep.celtic.co.uk) writes:
 
> Up until 1991, London had its own controlling authority 
> called the Greater London Council (GLC).  Its leader was Ken 
> Livingstone (Labour) and his nickname was Red Ken!  The Tory 
> Party of the Day got really fed up with Ken (He hould do 
> really annoying stuff like: the headquarters of the GLC were 
> offosite the Houses of Parliament so he used to place the 
> numbers of unemployed on a big sign on the roof facing the 
> HOP every day so that all MPS could see it).
> 
> Anyway, The Tory Patrty of the day decided that Local 
> Government for London had to go and so abolished the GLC.  
> Ken Livingstone is now a Labour MP and I think is in the 
> shadow cabinet!?!
> 
> On the last day of the GLC Red Ken held a huge party in 
> Central London.  Most Londoners want the return of the GLC. 
>  He subsidized Transport and provided arts and parks and 
> lots of other stuff.....

I haven't been onboard Gaffa for a while, but thought I'd add my two
cents to this one.  Right now, right in front of me (well, slightly to
the right), but definitely very LEFT, is a button I picked up on my
personal "Summer of Love" tour through Great Britain and France in 1984.
It says "Keep GLC Working for London". I distinctly remember being handed
this button by a punkish young woman along with some pamphlets about the
GLC and the great crime about to be perpetrated by the Tories in
abolishing it. Of course, this was at the height of Maggie's reign of terror,
and the GLC was a particularly annoying thorn in her side, what with all
their communistic talk about housing and feeding the poor, providing
decent day care for children etc.  Funny how Mikhail Gorbachev was a man
with whom she could do business, but Ken Livingstone wasn't...Never could
figure out those brain-dead Tories...Maybe if Ken had acquired an SS7
and aimed it across the street he would have gotten more respect.

Bye!