Vote For Mayor

It is the first time in history when 300,000 Polish immigrants in the UK will take part in elections for the mayor of London which will be held on May 1st this year. Both the present mayor, supported by the Labour Party, Ken Livingstone, and conservative candidate Mr Johnson, are encouraging Poles to vote for them and are promising to make Trafalgar Square available for the organisation of “Polish Day”. Moreover, the Federation of Poles in Great Britain (FPGB), in cooperation with Polish Professionals in London, is organising the “Poles go voting” initiative, which is supposed to encourage Poles living in England and Wales to vote in the forthcoming elections. What is interesting, both candidates have denounced British tabloids like the Daily Mail, which has slandered Poles living in UK for months, claiming they kill and eat swans from London’s parks. “I do not believe Poles will vote for one particular candidate; they will rather vote according to their political preferences. What is most important is that Polish people do actually vote because we should make ourselves felt on the political map of Great Britain,” says Mr Mokrzycki, president of the FPGB. Interestingly, Poles may find one of Ken Livingstone’s ideas appealing – he wants to increase the minimum wage of £5.35, because of the high costs of living in the city.
Gazeta Wyborcza