Labour’s Sadiq Khan has secured a historic third term as London mayor, seeing off Tory challenger Susan Hall.
It followed “wild rumours” the incumbent could have suffered a shock defeat, although both sides subsequently said they believed Mr Khan would win.
Earlier in the day, Sir Keir Starmer said he was confident of victory for Mr Khan, who was first elected to the role in 2016.
The Labor leader said: “Sadiq Khan was exactly the right candidate.”
“He has served two terms and I’m sure there will be another.”
This result leaves Rishi Sunak It comes after his Conservative Party suffered defeats in local elections, losing hundreds of council seats and losing more than 10 seats. Local council. Meanwhile, Labor made strides nationally, winning the Blackpool South by-election by 26%.
Mr Starmer said: “We were able to demonstrate to voters that we have confidence and that we are making progress in this general election.”
Mr. Khan and Mr. Hall clashed repeatedly during the campaign over concerns about knives. How to deal with crime and pro-Palestinian marches in the capital.
Most recently, Mr Khan described his Conservative rival as “the most dangerous candidate I’ve ever fought” because of his past social media activity.
In response, Mr Hall said he had “learned” from his mistakes and called his comments “outrageous”.
The clear dividing line between the candidates was Mr Khan’s controversial expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which has been the subject of ongoing protests. Hall has vowed to abolish it.
During the election campaign, the Conservative Party was forced to remove a clip used in an ad criticizing Mr Khan’s criminal record after it was revealed that footage of crowds at a New York subway station had been used.