Former MP, London Mayor and one-time leader of the Greater London Council, Ken Livingstone, is visiting the island to discuss his political career.
The Sporting & Dining Club event takes place at the Gaiety Theatre on Wednesday next week (October 5).
Club founder John Wannenburgh explained: ‘The evening will be a fascinating account of Ken Livingstone’s extraordinary life and career.
‘For nearly 30 years this controversial political chameleon has been making headlines, antagonising, shocking and delighting the public and the press in equal measure.’
Livingstone, who was born in the inner London borough of Lambeth, was an active Labour Party member by his 20s.
He was elected to Lambeth Borough Council in 1971 and to the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1973.
After Labour won a majority in the GLC elections of May 1981, Livingstone challenged the party’s leader Andrew McIntosh and backed by a majority, took over the running of the council.
Livingstone came under heavy fire from the mainstream media in the 1980s when they dubbed him ‘Red Ken’, their rubbishing of his support of controversial issues such as LGBT rights and a united Ireland and his bitter clash with Margaret Thatcher and her resulting abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986.
He entered the House of Commons in 1987 as the Labour MP for Brent East.
Livingstone made constitutional history in 2000, when he became the first directly elected Mayor of London.
He was elected as an independent candidate, having left the Labour Party after failing to secure the Labour candidacy.
He was admitted back to the party ahead of the 2004 mayoral election, which saw him re-elected.
In the role, he was applauded for his leadership in both the successful campaign to secure the 2012 Olympic Games for London and his response to the July 7, 2005, terrorist attacks on the city.
In 2006 Livingstone was suspended from office for a month after comparing a Jewish reporter to a concentration camp guard. He later successfully appealed the decision in the High Court.
He was suspended from Labour in May this year for ‘bringing the party into disrepute’ after he mounted a defence of Labour MP Naz Shah.
Livingstone was forced to to defend his claim that Adolf Hitler supported Zionism, saying he had been deliberately misrepresented by people who wanted to discredit Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. The evening will conclude with a question and answer session.
Tickets (£17.50) are available at www.villagaiety.com or call 600555.