Sadiq Khan re-elected as Mayor of London as he wins historic third time period
Labour has declared victory in London as Sadiq Khan is set to be re-elected as the capital’s mayor.
After he took an early lead in the first areas to declare results, party sources have said they are confident he will win an historic third term.
Mr Khan has won praise for his introduction of free school meals for all primary school pupils in London. But he has faced controversy for his expansion of Ulez. The Ultra Low Emission Zone, which sees drivers of the most polluting vehicles made to pay a daily charge, was extended to cover all 33 boroughs of Greater London last August.
Nobody has previously been elected for a third term as London Mayor. Ken Livingstone was beaten by Boris Johnson when he tried in 2008, while Mr Johnson decided to return to Westminster instead.
The election was tougher for Mr Khan this time because it was held with a different voting system. For the first time, it was decided by First Past The Post in the same way as parliamentary elections. Previously voters got to cast a first and second preference vote. This meant that supporters of parties such as the Greens and Lib Dems could back their own candidate in the first round and then give their vote to Mr Khan in a second round.
In 2021, Mr Khan got just over 1million votes in the first round. He then picked up an extra 192,000 votes in the second round when other candidates were eliminated.
The Conservatives have faced criticism over the decision to put up Ms Hall as their candidate. The former Harrow Council leader supported Donald Trump and expressed “deep joy” at Liz Truss’ mini-Budget.
Campaigners raised concerns about her suitability to be mayor after footage emerged of her suggesting the Black community has “problems with crime”. It also emerged she had liked a social media post picturing Enoch Powell with the caption, “It’s never too late to get London back!”
The result comes after the Tories have faced a difficult couple of days, losing over 450 council seats across England. Labour won inaugural mayoral contests in York and North Yorkshire, the East Midlands and the North East, and gained nine police and crime commissioner posts from the Tories, including in Cumbria, Avon and Somerset, and Norfolk.
Labour also took a Tory scalp by winning the Blackpool South by-election. But the Conservative Ben Houchen managed to survive as Tees Valley Mayor despite a swing to Labour. In a newspaper article on Saturday, Rishi Sunak claimed the Conservatives have “everything to fight for” ahead of the general election.
