Poll: Sadiq Khan leads Zac Goldsmith in mayoral race

Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith is closing the gap on his Labour rival in the contest to be London mayor, according to a new opinion poll.

The exclusive survey for ITV News and LBC Radio shows Sadiq Khan still on course to recapture City Hall for Labour - but the race appears closer than in previous polls.

Khan, the MP for Tooting in south London has a six point lead over Richmond Park MP Goldsmith, although the margin is even tighter on first preference votes.

The ComRes poll is published on the first day of the official campaign, seven weeks before the election on May 5th.

Voters believe Khan better understands the needs of London and would be better at standing up for Londoners but Goldsmith would be more effective keeping London safe from terror attacks.

The poll puts the Labour candidate on 42%, just three points ahead of his Tory rival on 39% but when the second preference votes of those backing other candidates are added, Khan wins by 53% to Goldsmith's 47%.

Liberal Democrat candidate Caroline Pidgeon and Sian Berry of the Green party both polled 6%. UKIP's candidate Peter Whittle is behind both on 5% while former Respect MP George Galloway manages just 1%.

Khan's campaign suffered a setback two weeks ago when a Parliamentary aide to the Tooting MP resigned after sexist and homophobic comments on Twitter.

The Labour candidate has also faced repeated questions about his pledge to freeze fares after Transport for London said the policy would cost £1.9bn.

Goldsmith was forced to step down as patron of a disability charity last week after infuriating campaigners when he backed the government's controversial benefits cuts.