Sadiq Khan was re-elected as the Mayor of London tonight, defeating Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey on second preferences.
Incumbent Khan took 1,206,034 votes after second preferences were taken into account, beating Bailey who was in second place on 977,601.
This follows the sacking of Labour Party chair Angela Rayner after defeat in the Hartlepool by-election and losses in council elections across England, 18 months after their worst electoral defeat in 84 years.
Khan, 50, came into the election under fire for his handling of TfL after being forced to negotiate a bailout worth over £3 billion.
Bailey performed better than expected, despite a campaign that saw him nearly de-selected twice, and one Tory insider calling him “the worst candidate in history”.
In 2016 Khan replaced Boris Johnson with 44.2% of the vote to beat Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith’s 35% haul.
Khan will only serve a three year term after the 2020 Mayoral Election was postponed due to Covid-19.
Some of Khan’s key pledges include 10,000 new council homes, a London drugs commission, and a green new deal for London – Labour aims to make the city carbon neutral by 2030.
Featured Image “Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, at head of Pride Parade” by Chris Beckett licensed under Creative Commons
