LONDON (Reuters) -Sadiq Khan was re-elected as London’s mayor, last outcomes confirmed on Saturday, serving to to cement the Labour Social gathering’s commanding lead over the governing Conservatives in native elections forward of Britain’s nationwide vote later this yr.
Khan’s victory, his third in a row, was extensively anticipated regardless of some public anger over knife crime and the Extremely Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which fees drivers of older, extra polluting autos a each day payment.
For Labour, London is the newest of a lot of councils and mayoralties it has gained within the native elections, which passed off on Thursday, inflicting heavy losses on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives.
“It’s been a difficult few months, we faced a campaign of non-stop negativity,” Khan mentioned in a speech after the outcomes confirmed he had gained 43.8% of the vote in opposition to 33% for the Conservatives’ candidate, Susan Corridor.
“For the last eight years, London has been swimming against the tide of a Tory (Conservative) government and now with a Labour Party that’s ready to govern again under Keir Starmer, it’s time for Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice.”
Opinion polls predict that Labour will win the subsequent nationwide election, propelling its chief Keir Starmer to energy and ending 14 years of Conservative authorities in Britain.
Khan, 53, who grew to become the primary Muslim mayor of the British capital in 2016, has pledged to construct extra social housing and work with a future nationwide Labour authorities to spice up police capability.
