London's maverick mayor gets posh rival

An election next year for the mayor of London is shaping up to be an unusually brutal battle that exposes one of the country's deepest social divisions: class.

The two candidates likely to face off in the vote - still eight months away - are among the most colorful and distinct in British politics, and often called simply Ken and Boris.

A contest between Labour Party incumbent Ken Livingstone and Conservative politician Boris Johnson would show the left-right divide in British politics is alive as ever, and may leave roughly half the city heartily loathing the winner.