Sadiq Khan faces anxious wait as London voters decide fate and opinion poll shows shrinking lead
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Londoners have decided the fate of Labour mayor Sadiq Khan and his Conservative challenger Susan Hall but the two frontrunners must wait another day at least before the winner is announced.
Most political commentators predict a historic third-term victory for Khan but he faces an anxious 36 hours after his commanding lead in opinion polls began to shrink during the final days of the six week election campaign.
Polls closed at 10pm on Thursday but officials will spend Friday verifying the ballot papers before counting begins at nine venues on Saturday.
The Greater London Authority has abandoned the electronic counting machines used in previous mayoral elections in favour of a manual count.
The switch means the GLA is unable to predict when the winner will be declared but the candidates and their campaign teams are expected to gather at City Hall on Saturday evening.
Khan accused the government of ‘rigging’ the ballot after introducing compulsory identity checks at polling stations and changing the voting system from a form of proportional representation to the more familiar first-past-the-post.
It meant the two candidates with the highest number of first preference votes were unable to ‘top up’ their tally with second preference votes.
Second preference votes helped Khan win by a wide margin in 2021.
Labour feared the new rules would deter some of its voters, lead to a lower turnout and favour the Conservative candidate.
Londoners were invited to choose from one of 13 mayoral candidates including Zoe Garbett representing the Green Party, the Liberal Democrats' candidate Rob Blackie and Howard Cox for Reform UK.
Voters were asked to put a cross on three ballot papers - one for the mayor, and two for the election of 25 members of the London Assembly which scrutinises the mayor.
The result is likely to be seen as a verdict on Khan’s performance and popularity after eight years running City Hall.
His decision to extend his clean air zone - the “ULEZ” - to outer London in angered many car owners.
He also faced criticism for failing to get a grip on London’s knife crime epidemic, which saw offences soar by 20% last year.
But he was hoping this year’s partial fares freeze on public transport and a promise to fund free dinner for primary school children would help sway voters.
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