CALLING LONDON

05-05-2008

Pete Millington sees a silver lining for the West Midlands in Boris Johnson’s election as Mayor of London. Are you ready to become the nation’s capital?

The fool is crowned emperor - a good omen for the West Midlands.

Londoners may live to regret the day they elected a bungling, self-promoting fool as their new Mayor sooner than they think.

For all his left wing cronyism and 1970’s political correctness, Red Ken at least gave off an airof reasonable competence and appeared to put the running of the nation's capital city slightly ahead of his own ego.

Whether you're a Tory, Trotskyite or somewhere in the no-man's land of moderate middle-ground politics, you can't help having this sinking feeling for the good people of London whose protest votes will come back to bite them up the old blade of grass without any doubt whatsoever.

To coin an expression I heard on the radio the other day, and I will eat my hat if I turn out to be wrong about Boris the silver-spoon-in-the mouth buffoon, this is clearly a man who couldn't run a bath let alone a capital city. A man whom when he was born - the midwives slapped his mother.

But actually I see this as good news for Birmingham and the West Midlands as we increasingly move towards becoming the nation's administrative capital.

The day that Boris became Mayor will see the advent the decline of one of the world's greatest capital cities. With sea levels rising at greater rates than the scientists will admit, in 100 years time London will have become England's Venice - a fine collection of historical buildings served by a transport system of rivers and canals.

Parliament will be based on the higher ground of the Midlands and children will sing nursery rhymes about the day that Jolly King Boris sailed down the Thames on his throne towards oblivion.

It is time for the West Midlands region to start really making our mark on the global stage - no more 'city comes to a standstill for the G8 conference and the Eurovision song contest, it is time for us to start behaving like statesmen and women all of the time, not just once every decade.

As the rubbish piles up on the capital's streets and the infrastructure of London collapses into the silty mud planes of the Thames, let us be like the wise people building our house upon the rock of diversity and harmony, let us be like Noah and family taking two of every nation onto the Ark that will be the nation's salvation, let us make full advantage of the crowning of the fool by the river.

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