Rise of the far right
The far right have seized their fattest electoral prize since the 1930s, writes Johann Hari. The British National Party now have a seat in the London Assembly, continuing a dramatic rise: in 1992, it won 7,005 votes nationally; by 2005 it hit 192,746. This is their most effective lurch into the mainstream yet. Instead of offering them solutions on issues like council housing and a fair national minimum wage, we have turned the white working class into a national punch-line. We dismiss them as "chavs", "pikeys" and racists, and jeer at their clothes, voices and names. So we don't really have the right to act surprised when they vote in a way designed to tell us – as the woman standing in her damp flat, carrying bags of economy-brand food from Iceland, told me – to "fuck off." Johann Hari The Independent
The Mole: limit on immigrants a sop to the white working classes 
Boris takes City Hall
Now that Bertie Wooster is in City Hall, who will be Jeeves? It is a vital role, for unless Boris has undergone the sort of personality change which might save Gordon Brown, there is a basic problem, says Bruce Anderson. He is a man without core belief: without a political and intellectual compass. He does have core instincts: three of them, two attractive. He is a libertarian and a hedonist; he is in favour of everyone having a good time, especially himself. But he is not a Tory. There is no reverence for institutions or tradition: no interest in history. Tories approach British history with a mixture of sentimentality, allegiance and hard thinking. Boris's response to that would be derisive laughter. Boris's third, less attractive core instinct is selfishness. Bruce Anderson The Independent
Paris and Rome show Boris the way
Mayor Johnson in photos
Why no mayors in other cities?
If a directly elected mayor is beneficial for Londoners, why not other British cities? Well, once bedded in they most certainly would be, says Tim Hames. Tony Blair's original vision was that where London led, the likes of Birmingham and Leeds would wish to follow. It is absolutely vital that they do so. For if they do not, London will be able to exploit its advantage and become even more omnipresent over the nation. Why have these other cities not adopted mayors? Simple. Vested interests oppose this. Councillors loathe the idea of being marginalised while one single individual exercises a semi-Napoleonic status. MPs are also not that wild about no longer being the king of the castle in their neighbourhoods.
Tim Hames The Times
Nothing left in Labour
Early in the New Labour era, Maurice Saatchi wrote a masterly article for the Daily Telegraph in which he identified Tony Blair's triumph as fundamentally linguistic, writes Matthew d'Ancona. Blair, Saatchi said, had colonised vast swathes of verbal terrain that had once belonged to the Tories: good words like "aspiration", "hope" and "prosperity" had been snatched from under Conservative eyes, leaving John Major with the linguistic dregs. Eleven years after New Labour's first landslide, the power is at last draining from its language. When Mr Brown promises to "listen and lead", when ministers undertake to turn their attention to "bread and butter issues", when Labour strategists brief those of us in the Westminster village about the importance of "getting outside the Westminster village", you can sense that there is absolutely no traction left in their words.
Matthew d'Ancona Sunday Telegraph
Endemic low pay
For those scratching their heads over the mystery of Labour losing Merthyr Tydfil, perhaps they should look at the pattern of low-paid, insecure work, writes Madeleine Bunting. Low pay is not just a problem of an extreme underclass or of migrants; it is endemic across the country. One in seven of all working households are poor; one fifth of all workers, 5.3 million people, are paid less than £6.67 an hour (two thirds of the median), the worst low-pay rate of any in Europe. It works out at less than a £12,000 salary. This is the section of the labour market where regulations about the minimum wage, holiday pay and employment rights reach only intermittently or not at all. The chance of an employer being inspected on the minimum wage is once every 330 years. Given such odds, an unscrupulous employer takes the risk.
Madeleine Bunting The Guardian
Why Obama hasn't wrapped it up
There's been a paradox at the heart of the Obama campaign, and it goes like this, writes Michael Tomasky. He has been, for millions of voters, a great inspirational leader, with a unique talent for defining the historical moment; but at the same time, in many ways, he hasn't been a very good day-to-day campaigner. Campaigns must have Big Themes, sure. But at ground level they are largely about controlling the daily and weekly grind of issues. Now think of the issues that have been front and centre since Clinton started her run in early March. They've included the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta); preparedness to be commander-in-chief; the federal gas tax; and, of course, the lamentable Jeremiah Wright. On all four, Obama has been back on his heels, answering criticisms.
Michael Tomasky The Guardian
American Election 2008
