If you were wandering around Bayswater last night and wondering why you were surrounded by several thousand Americans, it's not because we started granting political asylum to those seeking refuge from the Bush regime (a bit late for that, really). No, it's because last night, Democrats Abroad held their very own Super Tuesday event for expatriates who wanted something more tangible than pointing and clicking for their favourite candidate. Obama advocates and Hillary supporters......

We've not lately delved into what's been bubbling away in the run-up to London's elections next year. So Wilkommen, Bienvenu, Welcome to this new and possibly occasional feature to catch up with what's going on out there. Let's have a rummage and see who's up and who's down: Mayor Ken fights back in a hefty spat with Evening Standard over a hatchet-job on his race advisor. Standard's tactics are questionable, but the story went......

The fifth in our series of interviews with potential candidates for next year's Mayoral election. Previously: Victoria Borwick (Tory), Andrew Boff (Tory) and Warwick Lightfoot (Tory), Sian Berry (Green). Today: Liberal Democrat candidate Fiyaz Mughal. He's competing with fellow LDs Brian Paddick and Chamali Fernando to represent his party in next year's elections. Would you vote for him? Read his ideas below. Where do you live in London and what do you like best......

The four Tory hopefuls (or 'Top Tories' in tabloid sub-editor's argot) for next May's London mayoral elections will be put through their paces at a hustings for Conservatives in the capital this evening, where this Londonista has managed to bag a seat (despite neither being a Tory nor originally from London) to report whatever clangers Boris Johnson intentionally drops into the mix. The winner (ie. Boris) will then be declared to an audience of dozing......

You could be forgiven for not giving a fig about how the candidates for the London mayoral elections in 2008 are shaping up. Londonist, however, does. On the left, the Greens were first off the block in March with the selection of anti-4x4 campaigner Sian Berry, followed by Respect (remember them?) in April with Lindsey German, who stood last time on behalf of Team Galloway. For the far right, the British National Party have selected......

It's often easy to forget the Liberal Democrats these days, despite the opportunity to write alliterative headlines like that. In the last few days, it must be hard to try to top a new Labour Prime Minister swanning off for a ride in George Bush's motorised buggy, or his Conservative rival escaping the floods to Rwanda, only to return to be dogged by criticism and demands for peerages. But as Boris and Ken start......

In 2012, eight out of ten London tourist sites will be inaccessible to people who can’t use stairs. So reckon the Liberal Democrats in the London Assembly. Their Olympic spokesperson, Dee Doocey, told the BBC: Disabled athletes and visitors to the Games travelling on the Javelin trains from Stratford to St Pancras will not be able to continue their journey into central London to visit the capital's top attractions because most of the Tube......

With the ink on yesterday's ballot papers barely dry, Ken is already looking to the next lot in May 2008. It's been quietly announced that Ken Livingstone will stand again for Mayor next year as Labour's candidate. Meanwhile the Conservatives scurry increasingly desperately to find someone good enough to take him on. The Liberal Democrats shrugged a bit and then pouted in response to a plea to put forward a joint candidate. Perhaps they......

There is a lot to like about the Liberal Democrats - the little yellow bird they have as their emblem, the nice old man they have running the show - but today they've churned out a survey with the usefulness of a Cornish nationalist in the Scottish parliament. The survey, carried out by London Assembly's Liberal Democrats, found an adult ticket at Leicester Square can cost £12.45 more than in Europe The 'survey' shows......

In the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election last night the Tories held on to the Commons seat vacated by the late Eric Forth, although their majority was slashed to around 600 by the Liberal Democrats. Pamela Anderson did indeed take off all her clothes in the window of Stella McCartney's boutique last night (no, of course we haven't been scouring flickr for pictures). FirstGroup, the rail and bus operator, is going to change new restrictions......

Bob Neill, Tory candidate for tomorrow’s by-election in Bromley and Chislehurst after the death of Eric Forth last month, hasn’t had an easy campaign. He seems to be getting into lots of legal problems for a lawyer. Firstly he misused the House of Commons crest, using House of Commons headed stationary to threaten legal action against the UKIP. Next he got into trouble with FIFA for infringing their image rights after using an image of......

Poor Eric Forth. He died rather suddenly and tragically last week, which came as a great shock to his fellow M.P.s, to whom Forth was a well-liked and revered character. He was a parliamentarian to the core, making speeches without notes, and filibustering government legislation (whilst this can be seen to be purely obstructive, the way he did it was most erudite). Forth's colourful ties and waistcoats reflected his character. He will be sorely......

National politics does spin, but that's apparently a bit sophisticated for Lambeth - we seem to just do mud-slinging. The opening post-election salvo comes in the form of a leak to the South London Press regarding an alleged "pay scandal plot" by the newly elected Labour administration (the election itself included a shameful campaign against now ex-councillor Anglin for having an account on gaydar.com and pretty much every party claiming all the others were......

Somewhat later than promised, here is the latest Inside Westminster report on the Lib Dems under Ming: The Rt. Hon. Sir Menzies "Ming" Campbell CBE QC M.P. (to use his full title) is the new leader of the Liberal Democrats after one of the funniest and most farcical leadership elections in British politics. But now, "Ming the Merciless" has a real dilemma to face: where to take the party now? The Liberal Party was......

It seems that the Liberal Democrats can't go a week without a scandal. First, there were the original revelations about Charles Kennedy's drinking (quelle surprise?!) Then there was the admission of the party's Leader in the House of Lords, Lord McNally, that he too has battled with a drink problem. Now Mark Oaten steps into the frame, with the News of the World uncovering his visits to a male prostitute over a six-month period......

You may have heard the rumours that Charles Kennedy is facing a coup d’etat within the Liberal Democrat party. Well, these rumours certainly got louder today. Lembit Öpik, the Lib Dems’ Wales and Northern Ireland spokesman, spoke to the press today denouncing those in the party who are plotting behind the scenes to unseat Kennedy as ‘cowardly.’ “What is questionable here is why go through the press and brief in what I think is......

Today Londonist introduces it's latest column: Inside Westminster. That's not cryptic or anything, it's a bloke who works in Westminster writing about what goes on... in Westminster. And what a day to start a regular political column? David Cameron has put on his leader's hat and made his way to the despatch box to go toe to toe with Tony for the first time. So let's get the inside view shall we... Question: How......

No Blood, No Tears is the film that Guy Ritchie needs to sit down and watch. When the two hour caper movie is over he can go outside, take Madge by her elderly broken hips and tell her that he's never directing ever again because the Koreans are now playing his game, albeit in a very different class. Maybe Madge can follow his lead and give up warbling, thereby making the world a slightly......

George Galloway is back in the UK and while this is probably something of a relief to the US Senate, left-wing Americans are sad to see him go. Galloway's stand against republican Norm Coleman has not only made the British MP something of a hero to the American left, but has also brought into sharp relief the rather weak stance that the Democrats have taken of late. Tony Blair may also be wishing that......

If you live in central London and are thinking of making the effort to go out and vote on May the 5th then don't bother. At least that's the advice (sort of) coming out of the Electoral Reform Society. According to the BBC the five parliamentary constituencies in London are a foregone conclusion. So the result should be (look away now if you don't want to know the score): Labour: 3 | Conservatives: 2......

As far as the Liberal Democrats are concerned, no political issue is too small, as the release of their snappily titled report Getting To Grips With Gum amply demonstrates. The London Assembly Lib Dems are rightly concerned that councils and transport organisations are forced into spending up to £4 million to clean up this annoying and sticky eyesore and they want a levy introduced to manufacturers that will go towards this cost. Other ideas are......

Once every few months you can be fairly sure that a news item will be released on how much fare-dodgers are “costing” the transport system. Today the Liberal Democrats claim that nonpayers are taking 150m free trips a year. Londonist has never had much faith in the mathematical skills of politicians, but it seems to us that, when it comes to fare-dodging, all rational thought is thrown out of the window. The Lib-Dems’ proposed......