In a thoughtful article in today's Guardian (9 May), Ken Livingstone calls on Labour to learn the lessons from last week's elections in London.

Without wanting to be disrespectful to the recently deposed Mayor of London, the race must surely now begin to find a Labour candidate to challenge Boris Johnson in 2012.

Fortunately for the Labour Party, Boris Johnson not only remains a contradiction incarnate but now provides the public a high-profile fishbowl of Tory (opportunistic) contradictions too! As we know, despite his, and the Tory Party’s, proclamations, Johnson’s actual policies contradict them and do not give anyone any confidence that they will help lead toward the proclaimed goals. How would Johnson justify and reconcile his apparent anti-crime tough stance with his actual opposition to the proposed automatic five-year sentence for knife/firearm possession? Or reconciling Cameron’s green leanings with his own declared intention to undermine Ken’s new Congestion Charge initiatives against the gas guzzlers?   

Over the last 24 hours we have spent much time analysing and discussing the future of the Party. But I just want to say a thank you to Ken.

In the general sadness and shock at Ken losing the Mayorality (and Boris winning) comrades may have missed a couple of things. First of all there were swings TO Labour in several places and we won an extra GLA constituency (Brent and Harrow, Navin Shah).

A sad night for us and an emotional one for London's Mayor for the past eight years. Ken Livingstone is without doubt, one of Labour's finest ever politicians and one of the most successful public servants Britain has had in the past 30 years.

This is Ken's new online message, launched exclusively on Labourhome before any other website (except Youtube of course!).

Next week I'll be recording a video interview with Ken. Leave your questions here or email them to me at alexhilton@gmail.com

Click here to vote for the best London Labour election videos on YouTube.

Some of them are just pant-wettingly funny

Watched the delightful London Mayoral debate on the BBC's Politics Show earlier on, better than the other debates I've seen  maybe because Jon Sopel actually seemed to know what he was doing as debate Chair. (Tim Donovan was also a joy to watch in the London part of the show where he just demolished all of Boris Johnson's assertions as if he were swotting away an irritating mini mosquito....).

Anyway, back to the national part of the prog. 

I was delighted to see Ken looking much more like his old self, smiling and delivering some of the classic Ken one liners we've all come to know and love like this gem:

"I think Londoners want someone who've lived North of the river and South of the river.  I think that makes me practically mixed race".

Read a welcome account in “Inside Housing” about research by the “Equality & Human Rights Commission” into the British housing allocations system.

Unlike the nonsense and “Big lies” pedalled by the BNP, the commission reported categorically that there was “no evidence in the research of any abuse of the system including “queue jumping” to the significant detriment of any group including white families”.

The reality is that “new migrants made up less than 2 per cent of the total number of people in social housing throughout the UK. Around 90 per cent of those living in social housing are born in the UK”.

There is still of course the problem that the perception of “queue jumping” and unfairness still exists. This report will help tackle this mis-perception, although I doubt it has been widely covered in “The Sun” or the “Daily Mail”?

For decades we have also had a corrosive policy of allowing Council homes to be sold under the “right to buy” without these rented homes being replaced. This has led to not only rapidly changing communities but scarcity and perceived competition between communities for homes and shelter.

Thankfully we are now planning to build new homes in London (Ken willing).

Hat tip to Dave Cole

Perhaps in order to demonstrate that decision-making by a committee of 100 experts doesn't work, Politicshome has suggested a 'winning strategy' for Ken Livingstone that is unlikely to work.

For those who didn't catch the London Mayoral debate on Newsnight this evening, click here.

I'm obviously biased here, but I genuinely thought Ken won it.

Ken's first party election broadcast went out last night.

I've (hopefully) embedded it below. You can also see it here and send it to all your friends!: http://www.kenlivingstone.com/broadcast

Compass are delighted to announce our post-elections debate taking place on Tuesday 6 May from 6pm in the Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, London.

Ken's catching up. Could a comeback be on the cards?

I just saw this video of Ken on Sam Coates's blog and it made me laugh.

Two disasterous polls for us in recent days show that we could be in for rough ride in the May elections.