Former London mayor to talk at Beccles venue

Former mayor of London Ken Livingstone will be visiting Beccles Public Hall on Sunday, June 5, at 2.30pm, to talk about his forty years in front-line politics.

An Audience With Ken Livingstone will be a treat for anyone interested in politics and will include a “no holds barred” question and answer session.

The hard left politician, dubbed ‘Red-Ken’ by the media in the 1980s, went on to clash bitterly with Margaret Thatcher who promptly turfed him out of a job by abolishing the Greater London Council.

He became Labour MP for Brent and then in 2000 became the first elected mayor of London. He was lavished with public praise for upgrading the city’s transport system, introducing the congestion charge, the Oyster card and bus and cycle lanes. He also oversaw the bid that led to the 2012 Summer Olympics. But he still lost two mayoral elections to Conservative candidate Boris Johnson.

A polarising figure in British politics, Livingstone is the author of two autobiographies - If Voting Changed Anything, They’d Abolish It (1987) and You Can’t Say That (2012)

Public Hall manager Neil Dunnell said: “Book your ticket now to for An Audience with Ken Livingtone and consider your question for Ken - with the referendum on Europe set just two weeks after Ken’s visit, it will be fascinating to hear what Ken has to say on the subject.

“Love him or loathe him, the afternoon will be an opportunity to ask Ken a pertinent question on his views on Europe or something you have always want to ask.”

Tickets are available online at www.becclespublichall.com, from the box office, open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 3pm or by calling 01502 770060.