KEN LIVINGSTONE - AUTOGRAPH - HFSID 305459

KEN LIVINGSTONE
Signed as a Member of Parliament, a position he held before becoming London's first elected mayor.
Signature: "Ken Livingstone", 4¼x6. Printed caption: "With Compliments/House of Commons/London, SW1A 0AA". Ken Livingstone (b. 1945) was the leader of the Greater London Council (1981-1986), a council abolished by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government in the latter year. Livingstone then served in the House of Commons (1987-2001), representing Brent East. The Labour Party expelled Livingstone when he ran for Mayor of London in 2000, against the wishes of the Party leadership, but he won anyhow, becoming the City's first elected Mayor. He was re-elected in 2004 with the reluctant support of the Labour Party, which he re-joined. His controversial efforts to reduce London's traffic jams through a "congestion tax" and car pool lanes had some success, and he was praised for his leadership during the London bombings of 2005. Less popular were his support for IRA hunger strikers, and remarks considered anti-Semitic. He was defeated by Conservative Boris Johnson in two more bids for mayor (2008, 2012). Politically, Livingstone represents Labour's far left wing, advocating abolition of the monarchy and Irish unification. His critics call him "Red Ken." He has written two books, including If Voting Changed Anything They'd Abolish It. Fine condition.