Mayor's suspension a pointless waste

I've just heard about Ken Livingstone's four week "suspension" through an interview with Simon Hughes on the radio.

Firstly, I ought to explain that I'm highly cynical about "Standards Committees" in any form. They seem to me to represent the crudest form of managerialistic (and purported) efficiency at the expense of the democratic process.

Nonetheless, I am staggered at the politicking which has gone on in relation to this, in particular by Simon Hughes. So many are merely using this as a chance to "get Livingstone", a man, incidentally, or I abhore, in a way which they just couldn't at the ballot box.

This entire matter strikes me as a non-issue politically, despite what he said being mildly offensive. What I do find shocking is that our democratic system permits non-entities to suspend an elected mayor, who'll still be paid, for a month and thereby frustrate the intentions of so many Londoners. What a pointless waste.