Ken Livingstone turned up late for a radio debate today, some suggest because the tube was not running on time, but Ken claims it was due to wanting to spend more time with his kids.
I can sympathise with Ken's reasons as I am a relatively new father myself, but I gave up any political ambitions I had, which as an approved Lib Dem parliamentary candidate and local councillor who was being asked to stand for a target seat and who had all the necessary contacts and local knowledge, this was a very big decision to make. But I did it because I wanted to spend lots of time with my son and I knew that this was largely incompatible with running a proper election campaign.
The truth is that politics puts an intolerable burden on peoples family lives and we have to accept that. I guess the choice is, if we are to believe Ken's version of events, what kind of politician do we want to have running our affairs. I have no problem with a family man running things, surely this makes him (or her) a more rounded person. However, I accept Boris Johnston's view that it appears that it shows that Ken's priority is not his job.
It's a difficult call to make as to whether Ken is right or wrong. Given the choice though I think that family should come first and if it is too much of a bind to do his job as well then he should consider standing down.
2 comments:
Put family first - invoking the Hacker code already?
The comments of someone employed by the state. i would have loved to have put my family first and in someways I did. I left school from a secondary modern with little qualifications. and worked my way to the top. I had to make difficult choices to get their. When I hear all the wingeing from people that have everything laid out on a plate it does just not wash with me.
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