Ken Livingstone is one of the few politicians to refuse to become embroiled in the hate campaign against Mayor Lutfur Rahman which began when party officials over-ruled local Labour Party members who had chosen the then Cllr Rahman to be their candidate for Mayor of Tower Hamlets.
Given that Cllr Rahman stood on the Labour Manifesto, Ken Livingstone had no problems touring Whitechapel and Brick Lane with Lutfur, urging voters to give Lutfur their second preference votes.
It seems that the past actions of this popular London politician have rattled the Biggs camp: they have demanded that Ken, as a Labour Party member, formally endorse Biggs, the formal Labour Party candidate. Ken duly posed for photos, shaking hands with Biggs and pointing out that he did endorse John Biggs to be mayor of Tower Hamlets. Biggs was clearly delighted: the photo of him shaking hands with Ken sees him looking the happiest he has in months.
What Ken has not endorsed, however, is the local Labour leaders’ hate campaign against Rahman and their refusal to work with him if they can possibly avoid it; or the institutional racism implied by such actions.