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Labour has claimed victory in the London mayoral contest, with Sadiq Khan set to win a third term in office.
Early results from different parts of the capital suggested that Khan had comfortably seen off a challenge from his Conservative rival Susan Hall, in spite of rumours the contest could be tight.
With counting complete in four out of 14 areas at 2pm, Khan had secured 52 per cent of the vote compared with Hall’s 24 per cent, prompting Labour to claim victory.
There had been speculation that Hall could pull off a shock win in the contest after figures showed that voter turnout was higher in the capital’s outer boroughs, where Tory support is strongest.
Khan’s introduction of an “ultra low emission zone” across London, hitting drivers of highly polluting cars, was a particular issue for voters in the suburbs.
Khan’s victory came as results from other mayoral contests and local council elections continued to flow in.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives have been hammered in contests across England and Wales and Labour clocked up more wins on Saturday.
In Liverpool city region, Labour’s Steve Rotheram won the mayoralty comfortably for the third time with a 68 per cent vote share. The Conservatives finished second with 10 per cent.
Labour’s Oliver Coppard was re-elected as mayor in South Yorkshire with an increased vote share of 50.9 per cent.
Like Rotheram in Liverpool, Coppard had pledged to bring the area’s bus network back under local control. The Tories finished second with 16.5 per cent.
This is a developing story . . .
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