Leaders from across the centre-left, civil society and from all corners of the UK, have today urged every progressive voter, activist and organisation to get behind the campaign to re-elect Ken Livingstone, in a statement – reproduced below – co-ordinated by the leading left-of-centre pressure group, Compass.  The statements 100 signatories include 18 academics, five people from the arts, MPs Diane Abbott and Dawn Butler, Claude Moraes MEP, Baroness Helena Kennedy, Tony Benn and TMP editor, Chuka Umunna.

“On 1st May London will elect a Mayor. It will either be Ken Livingstone or Boris Johnson. Livingstone has been the front runner for re-election but alarm bells may be sounding.

One straw in the wind was the unprompted comment from a progressive colleague last week that she thought Johnson was going to win. This wasn’t a statement of desirability but feasibility.

Are the centre-left and the progressive voices and organisations of the capital sleep walking into the nightmare of a Johnson victory? Well maybe. But this isn’t just about the politics of London but a battle between the forces of progress versus reaction in the nation as a whole.

Let us be clear. Ken Livingstone is not perfect. Show us a politician who is. But he is not just a serious and skilled politician compared to almost any rival (but especially the horror and embarrassment of the Johnson alternative), Livingstone is a standard bearer for real progressive politics.

That is why this election matters to the nation, not just the capital. Livingstone represents a hope that something better is possible; that a different type of society – is not just some pipe dream of the left – but can be created. This is the reason he is under such severe attack. The Conservatives see a Johnson victory as a springboard to beat Labour at the next general election. They are piling in with every resource to make it happen – not least the negative campaigning skills of the Australian Lynton Crosby.

The lead attack dog is of course the Daily Mail group’s Evening Standard. The Standard is the most influential paper in the country because every decision maker and influencer in London reads it. It is being used day in and day out as a battering ram, not just against Ken Livingstone, but against the ideals of more democratic, egalitarian and sustainable politics. This is not the freedom and independence of the press but the disfigurement of the fourth estate into a blatant propaganda machine for the rich and powerful who fear the re-election of Ken Livingstone. It is indeed the few using their wealth and influence over the many.

And perhaps most alarming of all we see writers and commentators who claim to be ‘on the left’ taking the fight to Livingstone in a way that will only result in a victory for Johnson and all that means for the poor and dispossessed of the Capital and the future politics of our country.

So a battle is being waged in the country and it is time to stand and fight to ensure that Livingstone wins so that the ideals of democracy, equality and sustainability endure and are given new hope.

From a newly created post and a new institution Livingstone’s record is impressive and key milestones are listed below. But certain decisions stand out. Not least the Congestion Charge, which was as brave a political move as anyone has made in British politics for years because it socialised the failure of private transport and offered a coherent and workable alternative to the car against initial public opinion. On this issue Livingstone made the weather against the odds. Millions now enjoy better and cheaper public transport. When we look around London we see a public realm that has been transformed with renovated squares, parks and river banks for everyone to enjoy and share. It is a London at ease with its multi-cultural identity, and Livingstone has played a decisive role in that. Not least because he opposed the war in Iraq. This is the politics of equality and real opportunity.

Of course, like all of us, Livingstone operates in the here and now. For London that means the domination of the Square Mile in the form of financial capitalism. He cannot be expected to address such forces at once or alone. He has set up a Living Wage Unit for which he gets a big tick. He would get a bigger tick if he talked about the policy more. Trying to ensure everyone shares in success is difficult. But Livingstone is trying. Boris Johnson would just make everything worse.

Livingstone is pushing at the boundaries of politics; showing that public intervention can work. We need to ensure he is there not just for another term but to entrench progressive politics and a consensus that will make it happen.

London is a fairer, more tolerant and sustainable city because of Ken Livingstone and all that is put in jeopardy unless we act.

The future holds the promise of more affordable housing, even cheaper and better public transport, major infrastructure projects such as Crossrail and getting the Olympics right. The London Climate Action Plan leads the world.

The battle lines are clear. It’s them and us. And Ken Livingstone is us. We urge every progressive voter, activist and organisation to get behind the campaign to re-elect Ken Livingstone. It’s not just that the alterative is so much worse – which it clearly is – but that the hopes of a more progressive politics rest on his shoulders and our ability to support him when it matters.”

Signatories:

Diane Abbott MP (Lab, Hackney North & Stoke Newington)
Dave Anderson MP (Lab, Blaydon)
Anthony Barnett
Professor Zygmunt Bauman
Francis Beckett, Author and Journalist
Sir Jeremy Beecham, Labour Group Leader and Vice Chair, LGA
Tony Benn
Roger Berry MP (Lab, Kingswood)
Rodney Bickerstaffe
Ann Black, Labour Party NEC
Robin Blackburn
Jon Bloomfield
Billy Bragg – singer and song writer
Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham
Colin Burgon MP (Lab, Elmet)
Dawn Butler MP (Lab, Brent South)
Beatrix Campbell – writer and broadcaster
Martin Caton MP (Lab, Gower)
Mick Clapham MP (Lab, Barnsley West)
Sarah Jayne Clifton (in a personal capacity) – Compass Management Committee
David Coats
Anna Coote
Jon Cruddas MP – former Labour deputy leadership candidate
Professor James Curran
Gerry Doherty – General Secretary, TSSA
Mark Donne – Director, Fair Pay Network
Professor Danny Dorling
David Drew MP (Lab, Stroud)
John Earls – Head of Research, Unite
Bill Etherington MP (Lab, Sunderland North)
Trevor Fisher – Compass Management Committee
Brian Fisher MBE – Socialist Health Association
Don Flynn
Professor Ivor Gaber
Ian Gibson MP (Lab, Norwich North)
Professor Paul Gilroy
Professor Ian Gough
John Grigg
Stuart Hall
Gavin Hayes – General Secretary, Compass
Billy Hayes – General Secretary, Communication Workers Union
Professor Judith Herrin
David Heyes MP (Lab, Ashton-under-Lyne)
Paul Hilder – Co-Founder of OpenDemocracy.net and Campaign Director of Avaaz
Anna-Helga Horrox – Compass Management Committee
Kate Hudson – Chair, CND
Peter Hunt – National Secretary, The Co-Operative Party
Roger Jeary – Director of Research, Unite
Ann Jungmann – children’s book publisher and author
Professor Mary Kaldor
Sunder Katwala (in a personal capacity) – General Secretary, The Fabian Society
Baroness Helena Kennedy – human rights lawyer and Labour peer
Professor Ernesto Laclau
Neal Lawson – Chair, Compass
Professor Julian Le Grand
Michael Leahy OBE – General Secretary, Community
Roger Levett
Professor Ruth Lister CBE
David Martin MEP (Lab)
Professor Doreen Massey – Co-Editor, Soundings
Martin McIvor – Editor, RENEWAL
Chris McLaughlin – Editor, Tribune
Fiona Millar – journalist
Claude Moraes MEP
Gerry Morrissey – General Secretary, BECTU
Professor Chantal Mouffe
Robin Murray
Alon Or-Bach – Co Chair, LGBT Labour
Linda Perks – Regional Secretary, UNISON Greater London Region
Ann Pettifor -Advocacy International
Robert Philpot – Director, Progress
Gordon Prentice MP (Lab, Pendle)
Dave Prentis – General Secretary, UNISON
Lord David Puttnam CBE – film producer and Labour peer
Martin Rathfelder – Director, Socialist Health Association
Howard Reed – economist
Cllr Chris Roberts – Leader, London Borough of Greenwich
Tony Robinson – actor and broadcaster
Michael Rustin
Professor Jonathan Rutherford – Editor, Soundings
Professor Lynne Segal
Professor Richard Sennett
Dr Eric Shaw
Jim Sheridan MP (Lab, Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
John Smith – General Secretary, Musicians Union
Wes Streeting – Labour Students National Committee
Willie Sullivan – Compass Scotland
Samuel Tarry – Chair, Compass Youth
Robert Taylor – journalist and historian
David Taylor MP (Lab, North West Leicestershire)
Professor Paul Thompson
Polly Toynbee – journalist
Jon Trickett MP (Lab, Hemsworth) – Compass parliamentary spokeman
Gemma Tumelty (in a personal capacity) – President, NUS
Chuka Umunna – Editor, TMP and Compass Management Committee
Hilary Wainwright – Co-Editor, Red Pepper
Heather Wakefield – Head of Local Government, UNISON
David Walker – journalist
Professor Stuart Weir – writer
Kenny Young – Chair, Labour Students