London readies for mayoral showdown

By Luke Baker

LONDON (Reuters) - In a little over a month, a former stalwart of the left who famously breeds newts will take on a brash, Oxford-educated former journalist in the race to be elected mayor of London.

It is a showdown between two vastly different characters with equally eccentric personalities but the stakes could hardly be higher -- the responsibility of managing an 11 billion pound budget and leading one of the world's most dynamic cities in playing host to the Olympic Games in 2012.

Ken Livingstone, the incumbent, and his Conservative challenger Boris Johnson, could define the phrase "as different as chalk and cheese". When it comes to the May 1 vote, they are likely to split the five-million-strong electorate too.

While the personalities are key, the issues on the agenda are no less important for a city that wants to solidify its position as a major financial capital and lead the way on the environment and urban planning in the 21st century.

From battling crime to improving a much-maligned public transport system, drafting new environment laws and keeping the city's dynamic economy on track in turbulent times, the issues are weighty and affect all the capital's 8 million residents.

And at a time when polls are tight between the Labour government and the Conservative opposition, whoever wins the race to run the capital, the most powerful directly elected position in the country, could influence national politics too.

"It would be a mistake to caricature it as two silly, slightly unhinged eccentrics bidding to run a major capital city," said Dermot Finch, the director of the Centre for Cities, an urban policy and planning group based in London.

"This a big city, with a large budget in the mayor's hands, so the role has a very real, direct impact on people's lives," he said. "In terms of directly elected positions, it carries the most powerful mandate in Britain."