Dear London,

In the months following the human tragedy that was the Second World War, Churchill once told the House of Commons:

No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

Significantly, on a different occasion, he also said:

At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into the little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper—no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of that point.

As we brazenly enter the 21st century, while the Oxford English Dictionary admits myriad neo-political earworms such as 'unrigorous, well-justified, fact-checking twitterati dialoguing unpresidential trolls,' the very icebergs retreat from our human folly. Perhaps we should ask ourselves, "Is it still true that 'no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of that point?'"

With the inevitable rise of dogmatic politics across the free world, it is not just our civic duty to vote but increasingly our duty to ourselves to know who we are voting for and why we are voting for them. In the context of London, the policies and beliefs of one of the mayoral candidates will ultimately shape our great city over the coming years.

But being a responsible citizen is hard work. None of us has the time to wade through reams and reams of manifestos, littered with glib promises, broken before they have even been made. To this end I built london'selects for me, for my friends, and for my beautiful city. It doesn't try to predict how our future mayor will behave, or what promises he will break. Instead it looks to the past: to their behaviour in parliament. As a student of statistical calculus, I firmly believe that the past holds a best estimate for the course of the future.

Using data from the wonderful theyworkforyou.com, I have summarised the voting behaviour of the two candidates most likely to be our next mayor into a series of straightforward yes/no questions. As you proceed through the questions, your answers are simply compared to the candidates' votes in the commons. This way you can see whose beliefs and interests, as evidenced through their voting record, are best aligned with yours.

Before you vote on May the 5th, please just take a few moments to look beyond the face and the badge and find out about the person who represents you best by considering their ACTUAL voting history in parliament.

Your city, and your democracy, need you.
Jimme Jardine

Tap to continue...