It is also leavened by Ken Livingstone's sharp wit and lack of deference.

A rarity among Labour politicians, he has stayed true to his socialist convictions for all his political life.

His leadership of first the Greater London Council, before Thatcher abolished it, then later as London's mayor gave us the nearest thing to a genuinely socialist-led city council we've had.

Born in south London to a working-class family, he never lost his loyalty to working people, and was determined to make London a more just and egalitarian capital city.

He wasn't able to fully achieve his goal, not only because he was demonised and caricatured as "Red Ken" by his enemies, but because he was also sniped at and stabbed in the back by his "party comrades."

He did, however, achieve a considerable amount during his years of leadership.

He continually raised vital issues, was not frightened by controversy and battled relentlessly and with astute brilliance for his ideals.

Although Livingstone rightly clings to traditional socialist principles, he has been able to adapt to the changes demanded by the ravenous media and to maintain his "man of the people" reputation.

He is very much a maverick who refuses to toe any party line if he fundamentally disagrees.

And it was largely because he was someone who clearly stood apart from the mass of mainstream oleaginous and opportunist party politicians that he won wide admiration and respect.

Ironically, he probably lost the the election in 2008 against Boris Johnson precisely because he decided to stand as the official Labour Party candidate and Johnson was able to don his mantle as the maverick politician even though he is a dyed-in-the-wool Tory, albeit with a rather endearingly bumbling and unintentionally comedic talent.

Probably the one serious weaknesses of Ken's mayoralty was that he surrounded himself with a too-narrow cabal of people he felt he could trust politically.

This, unwittingly, gave much needed and unnecessary ammunition to his enemies.

Although the Morning Star and London communists gave him extensive, if critical, support over the years they hardly merit a mention here and then only in a rather dismissive way.

Whether Livingstone should have bowed out gracefully after his last defeat instead of deciding to fight for the mayoralty once again is a moot point.

But there is no-one at present more capable of taking up the baton, no-one who has his experience or principled track record.

That's why he merits our continued support.