Sadiq Khan clinches London mayor's post for record third time

• Khan defeats rival Susan Hall by more than 276,000 votes.
• His victory widely expected despite some public anger.
• Khan became first Muslim mayor of British capital in 2016.

Pakistan-origin Briton Sadiq Khan has swept to victory in the London mayor’s election for a record third time as the polls results poured in Labour party's favour,BBC reported on Saturday.

Khan defeated his Conservative rival Susan Hall by more than 276,000 votes and won nine of the 14 constituencies including two gains from the Tories.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party continued to count gains after Khan's landslide victory against his nearest rival, in a contest dominated by criticisms of his decision to expand London’s ultra low emission zone.

Keir had signalled he was confident of Khan’s victory before declarations commenced, as he counted mayoral victories for his party in Liverpool, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and in Greater Manchester where Andy Burnham returned to power.

In a fresh challenge to the prime minister to call an election, Sir Keir said: “Fourteen years and, I am sorry, I don’t care which political party you support, if you leave your country in a worse state than when you found it 14 years later, you do not deserve to be in government for a moment longer.”

Khan needed to win a simple majority of ballots cast, as the rules for the mayoral race were changed to a first-past-the-post voting system ahead of the latest election.

Khan's victory, his third in a row, was widely expected despite some public anger over knife crime and the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which charges drivers of older, more polluting vehicles a daily fee.

London is the latest of dozens of English councils and mayoralties that Labour has won in the local elections that took place 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 said in a speech after the results showed he had won 43.8% of the vote against 33% for the Conservatives' candidate, Susan Hall.

"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 next national election, propelling Starmer to power and ending 14 years of Conservative government in Britain.

Khan, 53, who became the first Muslim mayor of the British capital in 2016, has pledged to build more social housing and work with a future national Labour government to boost police capacity.

Speaking at City Hall, Mr Khan said: "We faced a campaign of non-stop negativity, but I couldn't be more proud that we answered the fear-mongering with facts, hate with hope, and attempts to divide with efforts to unite.

"We ran a campaign that was in keeping with the spirit and values of this great city, a city that regards our diversity not as a weakness, but as an almighty strength - and one that rejects right hard-wing populism and looks forward, not back."

The Mayor of London said: “For the last eight years London has been swimming against the tide of a Tory government and now with a Labour party that is ready to govern again under Keir Starmer it is time for Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice.

“A general election wouldn’t just pave the path for a new direction for our country, it will make bold action Londoners want to see a reality.”

Sadiq Khan said his “determination to ensure London leads from the front with world-leading green action remains as strong as ever”.

He added: “Today’s not about making history, it’s about shaping our future.

“A future where children can be nourished with free school meals and breathe cleaner air, where all Londoners are given the support and helping hand they need to fulfil their potential, and where our social fabric is strengthened and our diverse communities cherished and celebrated.

“My determination to ensure London leads from the front with world-leading green action remains as strong as ever.

“We’ve already made great strides cleaning up our air and will continue to tackle pollution, whether it’s found on our streets or in our rivers.”

Khan also thanked his mum, wife and two daughters for their strength and support.

He apologised for putting them through the protests and threats he has faced during his tenure.

“A special thank you goes to my mum, everything she’s done for me. I love you. And to my amazing wife, Saadiya, and our daughters Anisah and Ammarah, for their strength and support throughout all these years.

“I know there have been times when this job has taken a toll on you. But that’s not right, or fair.

“Some of the stuff on social media, the protests by our home, the threats. It’s upsetting, it’s frightening and it’s wrong. I’m truly sorry for putting you through this.

“But I also know you share my belief, as hard as it can be sometimes, this work is worth doing because it means being able to give to other families the same life-changing opportunities that this wonderful city has extended to ours. I love you all so much.”

Khan said: “Its been a difficult few months. We faced a campaign of non-stop negativity.”

Khan added he and his team responded to fear-mongering with facts, hate with hope and attempts to divide with unity.

In his victory speech, the newly re-elected mayor says he had "faced a campaign of non-stop negativity", while his defeated Tory opponent told him to stop "patronising" people and that knife crime "isn't an episode of The Wire".

It followed "wild rumours" the incumbent could have suffered a shock defeat, although both sides subsequently said they believed Mr Khan would win.

While congratulating Mr Khan on his victory, Ms Hall said he should stop "patronising" people who care about London.

When she had previously challenged him in a mayoral debate about "gangs running around with machetes" in the capital, he had said she should "stop watching The Wire" - a gritty US-based crime drama.

In her concession speech, she said: "The thing that matters the most, and to me, is reforming the Met and making London safe again. I hope Sadiq makes this his top priority.

"He owes it to the families of those thousands of people who have lost lives to knife crime under his mayoralty.

"And I hope too that he stops patronising people, like me, who care. This isn't an episode of The Wire, this is real life on his watch."

The pair had repeatedly clashed during the campaign, fought out amid concerns about knife crime and the handling of pro-Palestinian marches in the capital.

Just recently, Mr Khan had described his Conservative rival as the "most dangerous candidate I have fought against" over her past social media activity.

— With additional input from Reuters