London mayoral election polls and odds: Who will win in 2021?
LONDONERS are due to find out who has been elected as the capital's next mayor tonight.
After casting their votes on May 6, 2021, the results are due to roll in after a busy few days of counting - which has been prolonged by Covid measures.
🔵 Read our Elections 2021 live blog for the very latest updates
Who will win the London mayoral election 2021?
A record-breaking 20 candidates are in the running this year.
Labour candidate Sadiq Khan has been leading the polls, although early polls suggest his support is lower than expected.
Khan is followed by his closest rival Shaun Bailey, who has come out on top in areas previously won by the current mayor.
It is expected to be a close contest, dashing Labour's hopes of a landslide 50 per cent victory.
A suggests Khan leads Conservative Bailey, by 41 per cent to 28 per cent on first preference votes.
Next is Lib Dems candidate Luisa Porritt with eight per cent, and Sian Berry of the Green Party with six per cent.
The online survey was answered by more than 1,000 adult Londoners and it was carried out between April 13 and 19.
Labour - Sadiq Khan
Khan is seeking a second term as Mayor after he was first elected in 2016 with 44.2 per cent of the vote.
But even as a favourite fighting for re-election in Labour dominated London, Khan has a fight on his hands.
The son of a bus driver made history when he was elected London's first Muslim mayor.
Before entering the House of Commons the 50-year-old practised as a lawyer specialising in human rights.
As mayor he introduced the hopper fare for unlimited bus and tram journeys for an hour.
He also increased the area and cost of the congestion zone.
Khan also brought in new charges (the ULEZ and the T-Charge) for older and more polluting vehicles driving in the city.
He has also been a strong supporter of remaining in the European Union.
While his environmental policies have gained praise he has been attacked for what his critics see as his inability to tackle the capital's rise in crime and in particular knife crime.
A YouGov poll found only 30 per cent of Londoners were satisfied with his leadership, and 33 per cent dissatisfied.
However he remains a strong favourite among the bookies as he is long odds-on at 1-50 with bookmaker Coral, while his rival Shaun Bailey is 16-1.
Conservatives - Shaun Bailey
Tory candidate Shaun Bailey, 48, is the son of a lorry driver, whose grandfather came to Britain from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation.
He was raised in the West London area alongside his younger brother by his mum.
Bailey joined the Army cadets while still a teenager and remained with them for another 10 years.
In 2006, he co-founded MyGeneration, a charity for young people, which closed in 2012 due to financial problems.
He lost at the 2010 General Election standing in Hammersmith, and he failed to gain nomination for different constituencies at 2015 elections.
During his 2020/2021 mayoral campaign, Bailey has argued that increasing stop and search “saves lives.”
In an interview with TalkRadio in February 2020, he said he would “back the police to do the job” by giving them stop and search powers as well as the technology for scan and search.
Lib Dem- Luisa Porritt
Ms Porritt, 33, is the leader of the Camden Lib Dems and the youngest of all of the candidates.
She has three main aims for Londoners: "jobs, homes and clean air."
She is the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Camden Council and was previously Deputy Leader of the party’s MEPs.
Porritt says in her manifesto: "Londoners are uncertain about the future.
"They are worried about their jobs, how unaffordable it is to live here, and the city's impact on the environment.
"Let’s make every neighbourhood in our city a safe and thriving place to live and work."
Green Party- Sian Berry
Sian Berry is the co-leader of the Green Party and has been in the position since September 2018.
Berry was elected a Green London Assembly member in 2016 and also came third in the London mayoral race.
She has been a Camden councillor since 2014.
She said the Greens were the “only party Londoners can trust to deliver on their promises” with regard to housing.
Ms Berry would set up a "creative autonomy allowance", giving 1,000 young people £10,000 for three years to pursue creative careers
She would set the London Living Wage at £14 an hour from 2022.
She would also publish a new waste reduction strategy to encourage the "reduction, reuse and repair" of products.
What happened in 2016?
The last London mayoral election was held on May 5, 2016 with Khan, winning a majority over Zac Goldsmith.
Labour - 44.2 per cent
Conservative - 35 per cent
Green - 5.8 per cent
Liberal Democrats - 4.6 per cent
Ukip - 3.6 per cent
Women's Equality - 2.0 per cent
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Britain First - 1.2 per cent
CIST A - 0.8 per cent
BNP - 0.5 per cent
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