- Written by Thomas Mackintosh
- BBC News
Labor leader Sadiq Khan has won a third consecutive term as mayor of London.
Khan, who was first elected in May 2016, beat his Conservative rival Susan Hall by more than 276,000 votes – representing a 3.2% swing to Labour.
He won nine of the 14 constituencies including two Conservative gains.
More than 2.4 million votes were cast reflecting a turnout of 42.8% – a slight decrease compared to the 2021 mayoral election.
“It is the honor of my life to serve the city I love,” Khan said after announcing his victory at City Hall in east London.
“I’m very humble now,” he added. “It’s been a tough few months.
“We have faced a sustained negative campaign. I am proud that we responded to concerns with facts.
“It is a true honor to be re-elected to a third term and increase the margin of victory. Today is not about making history but about shaping our future.”
Khan also used his victory speech, which was initially interrupted by hecklers, to urge Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call a general election.
“For the past eight years, London has been swimming against the tide of a Conservative government, now with Labor poised to govern again under Keir Starmer.
“It is time for Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice – a general election will not only pave the way for a new direction for our country, but take bold action that Londoners want to see in action.”
His main rival, Ms Hall, then congratulated Khan on his victory and said campaigning for mayor had been an “honor and a privilege”.
She said: “I will continue to hold Sadiq accountable, for hardworking families, car drivers, and women.” “I urge Sadiq to make London better for all of us.”
Counting began at 09:00 GMT on Saturday and all candidates attended the city hall for the official announcement at around 17:00.
Mr Khan won constituencies including Lambeth and Southwark, Barnet and Camden, City of London and East, Merton and Wandsworth, Greenwich and Lewisham, Enfield and Haringey and North East – all of which he won in the last contest in 2021.
He took West Central from the Tories, a 5.2% swing to Labour, from the Tories, and the South West from the Tories, with a 2.7% swing.
Lady Hall controlled the outer London boroughs of Havering and Redbridge, Croydon and Sutton, Bexley and Bromley, Ealing and Hillingdon, and Brent and Harrow.
Overall, Khan won by just under 1,088,225 votes, comfortably edging out Ms Hall’s 811,518 votes.
The Liberal Democrats advanced ahead of the Green Party to third place, while the British Reform Party candidate Howard Cox ranked fifth with 3.2% of the total votes.
Lib Dem candidate Rob Blakey said: “We have increased our votes everywhere in London [are pleased] “To reach third place for the first time in a long time.”
London Green councilor Caroline Russell described mayoral candidate Zoe Garbett as “a hit” during the election campaign and “someone who brought a ray of sunshine”.
Speaking at a town hall ahead of the official results, Labour’s leader in the London Assembly, Len Duvall, declared the election result in Khan’s favour.
It is believed that Liberal and Green voters appear to have “thrown” their support in the mayoral ballot to Khan, while the British Reform Party received Conservative votes.
The former Conservative minister in London criticized Ms Hall and said the Conservatives ran an “incredibly disappointing campaign”.
Paul Scully, who was unsuccessful in choosing the Conservatives as its mayoral candidate, told the BBC that the Conservatives had “given” Khan a third term.
The counting of votes for London Assembly constituency members and London Assembly members continues at London level.
With the results of all 14 constituencies in the London Assembly elections in, Labor gained 10 seats, the Conservatives three, and the Liberal Democrats one.
The vote is split into Labor on 983,216 votes (39.70%) and the Conservatives on 673,036 (27.18%).
The Green Party came in third place with 319,859 votes (12.92%), ahead of the Liberal Democrats with 274,049 votes (11.07%), and the British Reform Party with 183,358 votes (7.40%).
Finally, the full London-wide slate, which decided the other 11 assembly members, elected the following people on Saturday night:
- Sian Perry, The Greens
- Susan Hall, Governor
- Alex Wilson, Reform UK
- Carolyn Russell, The Greens
- Lord Sean Bailey, Conservative
- Emma Best, Conservative
- Hina Bukhari, Liberal Democrats
- Zach Polanski, Green Party
- Andrew Boff, Conservatives
- Eli Baker, Labor Party
- Alessandro Giorgio, Governor
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