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Born in Lambeth, South London in 1945, Ken Livingstone began his political career serving on Lambeth and Camden Councils before becoming leader of the GLC in 1981. Ken remained in office until Margaret Thatcher abolished it in 1986. He then served as Labour MP for Brent East from 1987 to 2001.
In May 2000, Ken gained a nationwide profile when he was elected Mayor of London, seeing of the challenges of Steven Norris and Frank Dobson. Ken was re-elected for a second term in June 2004 eventually giving way to Boris Johnson in 2008.
With strong ideas about how the capital should be run, Ken Livingstone has never been afraid of controversy. He had the courage and vision to introduce the congestion charge in the city and lead a transformation of the citys aging transport infrastructure, to free up Londons traffic. Ken successfully restored beat police and bus services. He also took the decision to bid for the Olympics and was the driving force behind the capitals successful 2012 bid. His leadership vision was for strong and diverse growth for London and successes, in which all Londoners could share.
Fundamental improvements in environmental management are also central to Kens vision and in 2007 he produced a climate change action plan, which showed how London could reduce its carbon emissions by 60 in 20 years and by 80 to 90 by 2050.
Just one year in to his second term, in 2005, London suffered a devastating terrorist attack, leaving 52 dead and hundreds injured. Along with the government, Ken led the preparations to deal with the bombings and the aftermath.
Since leaving his role as Lord Mayor, Ken Livingstone still maintains a high media profile and continues to champion the causes he believes in. He has written two books, If Voting Changed Anything, they’d Abolish It (1987) and Livingstone’s Labour (1989). He is working on his autobiography due to be published in late 2011 and broadcasts a live phone-in show on Londons LBC radio. He is also the Labour Partys candidate for the mayoral elections due in May 2012.
