Sadiq Khan officially wins London mayoral race
The final London mayoral constituency of Lambeth and Southwark has announced its results, which show Labour’s Sadiq Khan has held it.
Khan received 106,861 votes (43.8%) while Susan Hall received 26,347 (15.1%).
Havering and Redbridge, the second-last constituency to declare, was held by the Conservatives. Here, Susan Hall received 82,859 votes (48.1%) while Sadiq Khan received 50,780 (29.5%).
There was also a win for Khan in the City and East constituency, which was announced earlier. The results there were:
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Sadiq Khan – 108,977
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Susan Hall – 38,626
With all the results in, Khan officially wins the London mayoral race.
Key events
In Cheshire, Labour’s Dan Price has defeated Conservative incumbent John Dwyer to become the police and crime commissioner.
Sadiq Khan’s victory speech on Saturday after being re-elected mayor of London, winning a historic third term.
London mayoral hopeful Count Binface said “down with fascism, up with Ceefax” after discovering he had beaten Britain First’s candidate, Nick Scanlon.
He told reporters at City Hall: “It looks like I have defeated Britain First in an election.
“Come on, you have to cheer about that … Down with fascism, up with Ceefax, what can I say?”
Jessica Murray
As things stand, there are almost 21,000 votes separating Street and Parker – and Street is in the lead.
We’re just waiting on Coventry and Sandwell to declare their results. A recount is under way in Coventry so the result there is expected to be very close.
The final tally could still be an hour away.
Labour’s West Midlands mayor candidate, Richard Parker, polled almost 14,000 votes more than Andy Street in the Birmingham city council area.
Parker received 80,251 votes in the city, followed by Street with 66,296, and a strong showing of 40,923 votes for the independent, pro-Gaza candidate, Akhmed Yakoob.
In Walsall, Street polled 24,735 votes, Parker 18,097 and Yakoob 8,451.
Michael Savage
Jeremy Hunt and his team are considering not holding another tax-cutting autumn statement before the next election, amid uncertainty about the public finances.
The chancellor has already hinted that he plans to pledge further tax cuts – including another down payment on Rishi Sunak’s ambition to abolish national insurance – before a general election, which is expected to be held in the autumn. He also remains under pressure from the right of the party to lower taxes.
However, the Observer understands that Hunt may opt to throw further tax-cutting pledges into the next Tory manifesto, rather than holding a final so-called “fiscal event” that would require a detailed analysis of the public finances by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Labour’s Simon Foster was returned as the West Midlands police and crime commissioner.
Foster received 327,000 votes across the region, a winning margin of more than 86,000.
Speaking after the result declaration in Birmingham, Foster, who won a legal battle to fight government efforts to scrap his PCC post, said: “The role of the PCC is as important as that of the (regional) mayor.
“That’s why the West Midlands needs a democratically elected and directly accountable PCC with their own democratic mandate. This is an election the Conservative government and its mayor did not want.”
Jessica Murray
The results are in for Birmingham, one of the seven local authority areas in the West Midlands mayoral election.
Labour’s candidate, Richard Parker, got 80,251 votes, while the Conservative, Andy Street, got 66,296 – both receiving a lower percentage of the vote share than they did in 2021.
The independent candidate, Akhmed Yakoob, came third with 42,953 (nearly 20% of the vote). His campaign largely focused on Gaza and he was predicted to take a number of votes from Labour over the issue.
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.”
Susan Hall said Sadiq Khan should stop “patronising” people who care about London.
Speaking at City Hall after the election results came in, she said: “I’d like to congratulate all my fellow mayoral candidates and congratulate Sadiq on his victory.
“Spending a year campaigning for this election has been an honour and a privilege. I have loved speaking to Londoners about the things that matter to them.
“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.”
Paul Dennett, who was re-elected as Salford City mayor with 61.5% of the vote, said holding the position was the “most rewarding and humbling experience” of his life.
He said the “Westminster and Whitehall model” of governing was “clearly broken and detached from ordinary people’s lives”.
In a speech after the declaration, Dennett said: “The Tories have been roundly rejected by the people in this country, losing nearly 500 council seats across 107 councils in these elections.
“Both locally and nationally it is clear that the Tories have fundamentally lost their way and it is clearly now time for a general election and for this government to step aside and make way for a Labour government.”
With nine of the 14 London Assembly results in, Labour had won eight and the Liberal Democrats had gained South West from the Conservatives.
Labour’s vote share was 43.91%, down by 0.98% on 2021 – when this election was last held, and the Conservatives down 5.15% on 21.73%, with the Liberal Democrats on 14.79%, up 0.54%, the Greens on 14.79, up 0.54%, and Reform UK on 6.26%, up 3.85%.
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.”
A heckler walked across the stage before Khan’s victory speech and shouted “Khan killed London”.
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.
