But hang on… What’s all this “it is Brian Paddick who I think would do the best job, but a vote for him makes a win by the imbecilic Boris more likely”? It wouldn’t, you know.

I think you’ve missed two things. First, as you say, “we still have 98 days to go” – and, as far as elections go, that’s an awfully long time for opinion to change. Don’t give up so soon! The main thing, though, is the voting system for the Major. In London (unlike for your MP), you get to make two choices. When the vote’s counted, if your top choice isn’t in the top two, they look at your second choice. If *that* one’s in the top two, your vote just gets added to their stack. So there’s no reason to hold your nose and vote for Ken; you can vote on hope first, and let your back-up vote be about fear.

So can I suggest that – on the unlikely notion that absolutely nothing changes in the next 98 days of campaigning – what you’ve written above could be best put into effect by you voting:
1 – Paddick (because he’s the one you think would be best at it)
2 – Livingstone (because if your top choice doesn’t make it, he’s left as the ‘not Boris’ candidate)

Nice Blog title, btw. Alliteration goes a long way