Elections: Labour’s Sadiq Khan elected London mayor
- Courtesy of BBC Election 2016
Sadiq Khan has been elected the new Mayor of London – boosting Labour after it slumped in Scotland’s elections.
Mr Khan is the city’s first Muslim mayor, after beating Tory Zac Goldsmith by 1,310,143 votes to 994,614.
The result bolsters leader Jeremy Corbyn after Labour was beaten into third in Scotland by the Tories and lost some English councillors.
In Scotland, the SNP said it would form a minority government after winning its third election in a row.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is celebrating what she said was an “emphatic” victory, her first as party leader, after the SNP emerged as the largest party at Holyrood with 63 seats, ahead of the Conservatives on 31 and Labour on 24.
But she played down talk of another independence referendum after falling short by two seats of an overall majority.
In Wales, Labour remains as the largest party, with 29 out of 60 seats, but was denied a majority as Plaid Cymru and UKIP both made notable gains. Counting is continuing in Northern Ireland.
Mr Khan’s victory – which gave him the largest personal mandate of any politician in UK history – ends eight years of Conservative control of City Hall. The former Labour MP and minister, 45, becomes London’s third mayor after Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson.
Mr Khan distanced himself from Mr Corbyn during the campaign, pledging to freeze fares on the capital’s transport network and build more affordable housing, but also promising to champion business and cut taxes on enterprise.
In his victory speech, he referred to his humble origins on a council estate and said he had never imagined that “someone like me could be elected as mayor of London,” promising to be a mayor “for all Londoners”.
He said the campaign had not been without controversy, but added: “I am so proud that London has today chosen hope over fear”.
He added that the “politics of fear is not welcome in our city”.
Campaign conduct
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said questions were now focusing on the tone of the Conservative campaign, which was criticised by some within the party and Labour for accusing Mr Khan of sharing a platform with Islamist extremists.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon – who said during the election campaign that Mr Khan was unfit to be mayor – said it was legitimate to put a candidate under scrutiny.
“Both candidates were asked questions about their backgrounds, their personalities, their judgements, the people they associate with. That’s the nature of our democracy and the rough and tumble of politics,” he told BBC Radio 4 Today.
Mr Fallon repeatedly declined to say whether he thought Mr Khan was a security risk to London, instead saying: “London is safe with a Conservative government working with the new mayor of London.”
Asked if that would require a lot of work, he replied: “Yes, of course it does.”
eaglepacks 