Andrew Boff
Encyclopedia
Andrew Boff is a British
politician and a Conservative
member of the London Assembly
, elected in the 2008 election
. He is a Londonwide member, representing all thirty-two boroughs
and the City of London
.
Andrew Boff is a supporter of the "Yes to fairer votes"
campaign. He was the Conservative representative at a Yes! event in London on 3 May 2011.
politics since the early 1980s, he was elected a councillor
in Hillingdon
in 1982 and was Leader of the Council between 1990 and 1992. In 1992, he stepped down to run for Parliament, defending the marginal Hornsey and Wood Green constituency, but he lost the seat to Labour
's Barbara Roche
.
Boff ran in the safe Labour seat of London South Inner
in the 1994 elections to the European Parliament
and was placed seventh on the Conservative list in London
in the 1999 election. He failed to be elected both times.
elections in 2000
, 2004
, and 2008
. He came second in 2000, behind Steven Norris
, and came second once again in 2008.
He was placed first on the Conservative top-up list for the London Assembly
in 2008, comfortably winning a seat. His term lasts until 2012. He ran for chairman of the Assembly in 2010, with the backing of the 11 Conservative members, but lost to Liberal Democrat
Dee Doocey
, who received the backing of the 14 other members, including Richard Barnbrook
.
, where he now lives. He received the Conservative nomination for the elections in 2002 and 2006
to elect the Mayor of Hackney
, but came second both times. He was the Conservatives' London Assembly
candidate for the North East
constituency in 2004, but came third, behind the candidates from both Labour and the Liberal Democrats
. He achieved more success being elected to Hackney borough council, winning the supposedly safe Labour seat of Queensbridge
in a by-election
in 2005, before losing it again in the next year, albeit with a vote count three times greater than that at the previous full election, in 2002.
Boff ran for Mayor of Hackney for a third time in 2010
. A booklet containing election statements from every candidate was distributed to every voter in the borough, but excluded Boff, due to the council's confusion over whether the statements he made about the cost of the mayoralty were legally admissible. By the time they decided that they were, it was too late to print, and the council compounded this by telling voters that enquired that Boff wasn't running. In the end, Boff fell to third place, behind the Labour incumbent and the Liberal Democrats.
, and an outspoken proponent of direct democracy
, having trumpeted the issue at London mayoral hustings and on ConservativeHome
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician and a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
member of the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
, elected in the 2008 election
London Assembly election, 2008
An election to the Assembly of London took place on 1 May 2008, along with the London mayoral election, 2008. The Conservatives gained 2 seats, Labour gained one seat, the Liberal Democrats lost two seats, and United Kingdom Independence Party or One London as they became were wiped out...
. He is a Londonwide member, representing all thirty-two boroughs
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
and the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
Andrew Boff is a supporter of the "Yes to fairer votes"
YES! To Fairer Votes
YES! To Fairer Votes was the political campaign in the United Kingdom, whose purpose was to persuade the public to vote in favour of the Alternative Vote in the referendum on Thursday, 5 May 2011.-Structure:...
campaign. He was the Conservative representative at a Yes! event in London on 3 May 2011.
Early career
Active in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
politics since the early 1980s, he was elected a councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
in Hillingdon
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...
in 1982 and was Leader of the Council between 1990 and 1992. In 1992, he stepped down to run for Parliament, defending the marginal Hornsey and Wood Green constituency, but he lost the seat to Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's Barbara Roche
Barbara Roche
Barbara Maureen Roche is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green from 1992 until 2005, when she lost the seat, despite having previously enjoyed a majority of over 10,500.During her time in Government, she held several ministerial offices;...
.
Boff ran in the safe Labour seat of London South Inner
London South Inner (European Parliament constituency)
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
in the 1994 elections to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and was placed seventh on the Conservative list in London
London (European Parliament constituency)
London is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 8 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :The constituency corresponds to Greater London, in the south east of the United Kingdom....
in the 1999 election. He failed to be elected both times.
London Assembly
He contested the Conservative nomination for the London mayoralMayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
elections in 2000
London mayoral election, 2000
The first election to the office of Mayor of London took place on 4 May 2000.-Results:¹Under the Supplementary Vote system, if no candidate receives 50% of 1st choice votes, 2nd choice votes are added to the result for the top two 1st choice candidates...
, 2004
London mayoral election, 2004
The 2004 election to the post of Mayor of London took place on 10 June 2004. It was being held on the same day as other local elections and the UK part of the 2004 European Parliament elections, so Londoners had a total of five votes on three ballot papers. Polling opened at 07:00 local time, and...
, and 2008
London mayoral election, 2008
The London mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative Party candidate Boris Johnson....
. He came second in 2000, behind Steven Norris
Steven Norris
Steven John Norris is a British Conservative politician. He was the official Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in 2000 and 2004, losing in both races to Ken Livingstone....
, and came second once again in 2008.
He was placed first on the Conservative top-up list for the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
in 2008, comfortably winning a seat. His term lasts until 2012. He ran for chairman of the Assembly in 2010, with the backing of the 11 Conservative members, but lost to Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
Dee Doocey
Dee Doocey
Elizabeth Deirdre Doocey, Baroness Doocey OBE is a British Liberal Democrat politician and businesswoman, and a former Chair of the London Assembly. She was born Elizabeth Deirdre O'Keefe in Drumcondra, Dublin...
, who received the backing of the 14 other members, including Richard Barnbrook
Richard Barnbrook
Richard John Barnbrook is a British politician and member of the London Assembly. Having been elected as a British National Party candidate, he resigned the BNP whip in August 2010. Barnbrook was a councillor, and leader , then deputy leader , of the BNP group on Barking and Dagenham London...
.
Hackney politics
He has run for office numerous times in HackneyLondon Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, where he now lives. He received the Conservative nomination for the elections in 2002 and 2006
Hackney Council election, 2006
Elections for London Borough of Hackney Council were held on Thursday 4 May 2006. The whole council was up for election. Hackney is split up into 19 wards, each electing 3 councillors, so a total of 57 seats were up for election.-Election results:...
to elect the Mayor of Hackney
Jules Pipe
Julian Benjamin Pipe CBE is the first directly elected Mayor of the London Borough of Hackney since his election in October 2002.He worked as a journalist until taking on the full-time position as Mayor....
, but came second both times. He was the Conservatives' London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
candidate for the North East
North East (London Assembly constituency)
North East is a constituency of the London Assembly. It is represented by Jennette Arnold who was directly elected at the 2004 London Assembly election after previously being elected by the Labour Party list in the 2000 London Assembly election....
constituency in 2004, but came third, behind the candidates from both Labour and the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
. He achieved more success being elected to Hackney borough council, winning the supposedly safe Labour seat of Queensbridge
Queensbridge (ward)
Queensbridge is a ward in the London Borough of Hackney and forms part of the Hackney South and Shoreditch constituency.The ward returns three councillors to Borough Council, with an election every four years. At the last election on 6 May 2010, Emma Plouviez, Tom Price, and Patrick Vernon, all...
in a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in 2005, before losing it again in the next year, albeit with a vote count three times greater than that at the previous full election, in 2002.
Boff ran for Mayor of Hackney for a third time in 2010
Hackney Council election, 2010
Elections for London Borough of Hackney Council were held on Thursday 6 May 2010. The whole council was up for election. Hackney is split up into 19 wards, each electing 3 councillors, so a total of 57 seats were up for election.-Summary results:...
. A booklet containing election statements from every candidate was distributed to every voter in the borough, but excluded Boff, due to the council's confusion over whether the statements he made about the cost of the mayoralty were legally admissible. By the time they decided that they were, it was too late to print, and the council compounded this by telling voters that enquired that Boff wasn't running. In the end, Boff fell to third place, behind the Labour incumbent and the Liberal Democrats.
Personal life
He is an information technology consultant and is openly gay. Boff is a libertarianLibertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, and an outspoken proponent of direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
, having trumpeted the issue at London mayoral hustings and on ConservativeHome
ConservativeHome
Conservative Home is a British political website started by Tim Montgomerie prior to the 2005 United Kingdom general election campaign, that aims to represent UK grassroots Conservative opinion.-Editors:...
.