What is even more funny is that "Red Ken" who is the current mayor has been very similar to Walter Veltroni who was Rome's previous mayor. They both put their own interest before the city's and arranged all sorts of celebrations with fireworks.
And they both are left-wing politicians, Veltroni has even been a member of the Italian Communist Party.
Many people are not happy with Livingstone because of the congestion charge and other projects that were carried out during his two (ineffective) terms. So perhaps the result will be similar as in Rome, the challenging right-wing politician (a.k.a Boris the Comedian) winning the office.