Sadiq Khan is set for a third term as London mayor after trouncing his Tory rival – dashing rumours that he could be ousted by a backlash over ULEZ, crime and Gaza.
The Labour incumbent defeated Susan Hall by more than 11 percentage points, receiving 1,088,225 votes to her 811,518.
Labour sources have hailed the win, insisting Mr Khan had ‘done better than anyone could have expected’ and gained ground on the Conservatives ‘right across London’.
As the declarations were made in the 14 electoral areas, it quickly became clear that Tory hopes of a shock, driven by speculation turnout was down in inner London, were wide of the mark.
The margin is significantly bigger than the 4.7 points he beat Shaun Bailey by at the last contest in 2021, and the widest victory for two decades.
It will fuel soul-searching within the Conservatives over how they ended up with Ms Hall as the candidate – and why she was unable to capitalise on anger at the mayor’s performance.
Sadiq Khan (pictured with his wife Saadiya this morning) has emerged victorious in his bid for a third term as London mayor
Polls ahead of the election suggested that the incumbent was on track for a comfortable victory over Tory rival Susan Hall (pictured)
On a visit to Mansfield this morning, Keir Starmer (pictured with new East Midlands mayor Claire Ward) insisted he was ‘confident’ that Mr Khan could keep control of City Hall
Polls in the run up to the ballot on Thursday had shown Mr Khan with a comfortable lead of between 10 and 22 points.
However, jitters started spreading through Labour circles yesterday over a spike in turnout in outer London – typically dominated by Conservative voters and where anger about the ULEZ expansion has been most fierce.
Supporters of Mr Khan were worried that he could have been damaged by a wider trend of Muslim voters shunning Labour over Keir Starmer’s strong support for Israel.
But Keir Starmer insisted this morning he was ‘confident’ that Mr Khan can keep control of City Hall.
That view was proved right as the declarations began this morning.
Mr Khan won 83,792 votes in Greenwich and Lewisham, one of the first London boroughs to declare its mayoral vote, with Ms Hall on 36,822.
That was equivalent to a 4.5 per cent swing from the Tories to Labour compared to the previous contest in 2021.
In Merton and Wandsworth Mr Khan received 84,725 and Ms Hall 50,976.
That was a 5.1 per cent swing away from the Conservatives.
Mr Khan also recorded commanding leads in the West Central area – by 54,481 to 43,405 for Ms Hall – where Tory candidates have previously triumphed.
In the North East, he was ahead by 127,455 to 34,099, and in the South West by 77,011 to 68,856 – although there are still nine more results to come.
The only exception was in Bexley and Bromley, where Ms Hall racked up a huge 111,216 votes, more than double the 48,952 for Mr Khan.
The total vote in London was 2,495,621.
The row over the expansion of the £12.50-a-day ULEZ charge was previously credited with helping the Tories to cling on in the Uxbridge by-election, although Mr Khan’s team had believed the fallout was dissipating.
Mr Khan was one of the first Labour politicians to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but Sir Keir’s strong support for Israel’s right to self-defence caused anger among many supporters.
There was evidence of that in the results yesterday, with Labour losing overall control of Oldham council after independents claimed seats.
Senior allies of Mr Khan had told MailOnline that it is ‘going to be close’.
But confidence grew during the course of the day.
Sir Keir said: ‘Sadiq Khan was absolutely the right candidate. He has got two terms of delivery behind him and I am confident that he has got another term of delivery in front of him.’
Asked on Sky News yesterday about the jitters, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting – MP for Ilford North – said: ‘We’ve always feared this race will be close.’
He highlighted that Mr Khan only won the first round of voting by 5 per cent in 2021. Since then the government has changed the voting system to first past the post, meaning Mr Khan will not benefit from second preferences of Greens and Lib Dems.
‘We were warning Londoners you know, don’t take the risk of waking up with a Conservative mayor,’ Mr Streeting said.
He went on: ‘It is too early to say yet what we think the result will be, verification of votes are taking place today the counting will be tomorrow.
‘I mean, based on what I saw in my own constituency and bearing in mind the last election a few years ago – Sadiq lost every ward in Iford North bar one – I felt that there was a bit more support for him this time in my constituency.
The count taking place at the ExCel centre in London today
Asked on Sky News yesterday about the London jitters, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting – MP for Ilford North – said: ‘We’ve always feared this race will be close.’
‘There are people who are angry with him about Ulez we sort of had that argument of following the Uxbridge by election.
‘And, you know, I didn’t agree with him, but he stuck to his guns, stuck to his convictions. Fair enough.’
Mr Streeting hit out at racial abuse suffered by Mr Khan, but acknowledged that Gaza could be a factor in the election.
‘There’s no doubt looking at some of the results across the country that have already come in that Gaza has been an issue,’ he said.
‘And I say say that with great respect to voters who sent us a message on Gaza. So we’ll have to wait and see where the results come in.’
Betfair spokesman Sam Rosbottom said: ‘While Sadiq Khan remains the favourite to win the race for London Mayor this morning, doubts are clearly creeping in and Betfair Exchange punters are now seriously eyeing Tory rival Susan Hall as a contender.’
The final surveys gave Mr Khan a lead of between 10 and 22 points
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