Defeated Ken thinks Londoners still care...

Ken Livingstone... he won't go quietly. Which is a pity.

He was rather fantastic when he went off-message, quit the Labour Party and won the London Mayor gig as an independent.

Then he went meekly back to the party that didn't want him and he promptly got trounced at the ballot box.

And maybe if he'd leave it at that, he might have a chance of getting the job he loves back at some point in the future.

There is no doubt that Ken loves London and will work to do what he thinks is right by the capital.

Yet today, he writes an article which just irritates folk. Up he crops again like the Ghost of Christmas Past, in The Times, sniping at Boris Johnson over the current tube strike.

In the article, Ken slams the fact that people want to meet Boris and that Boris - whilst having detractors - is actually rather popular (hence he won an election to be Mayor). Sure, Boris does some things that comedians use as rich material. Yet his imperfections and minor mishaps (like falling into rivers) make him one of the most endearing personalities in British politics. And for all of Boris's Have I Got News For You moments, he is a great intellect.

Yet speaking up for Boris is not necessary. His character traits are not an issue. The issue here is good manners.

To that end, can someone tell Ken to show some professional courtesy?

Firstly, he doesn't actually say in his article how he would have prevented the current tube strike which - apparently - is being staged because tube bosses would not give written guarantees of no redundancies for duplicated back office staff.

All Ken will say is that he met the Union folk for a cup of tea (or something). Of course you met the Unions. You've got Labour in your blood. The Trade Unions bankroll your damned organisation. Well, until their conferences when many plan on cutting the Labour Party's wonga out.

Talking of unions, has Ken asked the inconvenienced Londoner who they side with - Boris or the RMT..? Ken might be surprised if he asked some independent Londoners (not Labour cronies) what they think. "Damned RMT" was what we heard people muttering on Tuesday evening.

Why does Ken think we care about his opinion?

First, there is an established an unwritten political courtesy that Ken should adhere to.

Could you imagine if Tony Blair was constantly on TV picking faults in Gordon Brown? (if only!)

Or if Maggie had constantly gone onto the BBC picking holes in every one of John Major's decisions?

It simply lacks professional political courtesy.

And, if Ken hadn't noticed, Londoners had had enough of him and rejected him at the ballot box.

Constantly sniping at the man who defeated you is not a way of winning back trust and confidence.

People react negatively to what is perceived of as sour grapes. And stirring up negativity brings back negative reflections on your own tenure in the job...

And, just in case you've forgotten, Londoners rejected the unholy Lib-Lab alliance to smear Boris and voted him into the Mayor job. Simply - on the evidence of the ballot box - more Londoners like Boris than dislike him.

Ken Livingstone did some very good things for London. And there's an outside chance he will do again in the future.

But being an armchair critic and sniping at his successor, bitching at the man who beat him at the ballot box... that, above all, insults the democratic decision of Londoners.

You can set your stall out again next time the gig comes up for election. By which time, there may well be a vacancy as Boris is pretty much electable back into Parliament whenever he feels like it. He is a true Statesman who could well end up doing great good in the Cabinet one day. This blog would welcome and support Boris as a senior national politician.

Question is Ken, will your party allow your anywhere near your former voters to enable you to even ask them to give you the right to speak up for them again?

Or will you have to quit Labour and fight as an independent again? Not that doing so would harm your chances anyway - as you yourself have already demonstrated.