Inside Labour’s London election battle as Sadiq Khan points eve of polling plea
Labour is bracing for a bruising in the capital with pollsters forecasting ‘historic losses’ in boroughs held by the party for decades in its traditional heartland
Sadiq Khan has issued an eleventh hour plea to Labour supporters tempted to switch their vote – as the party battles with the Greens in London.
With over six million Londoners eligible to vote on Thursday, the Mayor said the party has a record to be proud of in the capital but warned it was “all at risk” this week. Writing in The Mirror on the eve of the local elections, Sir Sadiq told voters: “I understand why voters are frustrated with the pace of change.
“Like their counterparts across the country, London’s borough councils have not yet recovered from the catastrophic impact of a decade and a half of Tory cuts. But, this week, I ask people tempted to switch their vote away from our party to lend their local Labour councillors their support once again.”
In 2022, Labour won 21 of 32 boroughs – cementing the party’s dominance in its London stronghold and even capturing Margaret Thatcher’s favourite Tory council of Wandsworth.
But four years later, Labour is bracing for a bruising in the capital. YouGov has suggested the party faces “historic losses” in boroughs held for decades. Pollsters More in Common have also said Labour will remain the largest party in London – but will be “besieged on all fronts” and faces a significantly reduced vote share.
READ MORE: Don’t ‘swipe left’ on Keir Starmer in elections aftermath, Labour MPs told
Zack Polanski’s left-wing Greens are set to sweep up votes in inner London seats held by Labour for decades – including Hackney, Lambeth, and Lewisham. In the suburbs of the capital, Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK is also set to make gains.
But the Greens are currently second-placed in 16 of the 21 councils currently held by Labour. More in Common said this means the main threat Labour faces in the capital as millions head to the ballot box tomorrow is from its left – rather than its right.
In the London borough of Lewisham, which has largely been controlled by Labour since the 1970s, the party won all 54 council seats back in 2022. But there have been defections to the Greens on the council and a recent YouGov MRP poll had the party neck-and-neck with Labour.
Window cleaner Jason Peters, 55, said he was going to stick with Labour as he spoke with The Mirror outside Lewisham shopping centre on Thursday morning. He said he was not impressed with “the guy in charge”, but added: “I always vote Labour.” Kadian Preddie, 39, said: “It’s still Labour. Before we’ve always voted so we just continue. It’s a family thing that it’s always been Labour and they’ve been doing a great job.”
Retired NHS workers Vic and Carol said the both intended to vote Labour. Vic, 79, said: “They are doing a good job here. They are falling down on pothole repairs and the low-traffic areas have put a bit of a strain on where we live. But apart from that, they are pretty good.”
Asked for his thoughts on Keir Starmer, he replied: “It’s a hard one. I think he’s capable but I think he’s taken some bad advice.” But others made clear they were willing to switch their vote.
Domestic worker Veronica Clarke, 56, told The Mirror she voted Labour in 2024 – but has not decided how she will cast her ballot on Thursday. She said it was a “50-50” split for her between the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats. “I just haven’t been happy with their [Labour’s] policies,” she said. “I don’t think they’ve lived up to what they traditionally stood for. I want a party that says what they mean and means what they say basically”.
Artist Teresita Dennis, 69, who voted Labour at the General Election in 2024, said she now planned to vote Green on Thursday. She said: “I think it’s fresh. There are certain things that have occurred throughout the last year that have been a worry for Labour. I think the Palestinian situation, which is being ignored by Labour, is a real problem for many people. The Greens are a fresh new face.”
The scale of the party’s losses by Friday evening in the capital will also be crucial. Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice told The Mirror that London is the “most uncertain” across the country in terms of how bad the results will be for the party.
He explained: “At the moment Wales looks unredeemable, Scotland looks impossible. There are councils in the North of England like Sunderland and Gateshead where it looks as though Reform will gain control from Labour. In contrast, the damage in London might not look so bad.”
He said while Labour could end up with its lowest-ever share of the vote in London borough elections, it could still end up still being the largest party due to its dominance. Sir John added: “It’s [London] now Labour’s strongest area. Forget the North of England, forget Wales, forget Scotland, it’s London. London contains lots of the middle class professionals who have been wandering off to the Greens. But even in London there may just not be quite enough, young middle-class professional Greens, who are p**** off with the Labour Party to do quite so much damage as perhaps Labour might fear.
“But turn it around – if the Greens do do rather better than at the moment the polls suggest that’s probably it for Starmer.” London is both potentially the thing that might be spinnable for 10 Downing Street – but if it isn’t spinnable, there’s nothing else for them to fall back on.”
