Labour leads in London – but Ken doesn’t

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

There’s some worrying news for the Ken campaign today, as a YouGov poll shows that – unlike in 2008 – Labour is currently polling significantly ahead of Livingstone’s own popularity. According to YouGov, 51% of Londoners currently identify as Labour voters (compared to 32% for the Tories). However when it comes to the mayoral election, 39% are backing Johnson compared to 33% for Livingstone. There’s still 15% of the electorate who don’t know (which means that Livingstone will need him impressive ground campaign), but a complete slump in the % of Londoners saying they’ll vote for the Lib Dem candidate (down to 1%) appears to have aided their coalition partners, rather than Livingstone.

Update: The Livingstone campaign have responded to today’s YouGov poll – a spokesperson told LabourList:

“So far out from the election it would make no sense to provide a running commentary on the polls – we are a long way from the poll that really matters on May 3rd.”

“Across London as Ken travels to each of the 32 London boroughs hardworking people are saying time and again they are sick and tired of crime and they don’t want Boris’s police cuts; they want a decent home for their family, a decent job to pay the bills and an affordable, effective transport system.”

“Ken’s aim is to convince Londoners that he is person to defend services, improve Londoners’ quality of life and cut crime.”

“We believe Boris Johnson’s public persona has real weaknesses – a preference for photo-ops rather than concentrating on the job won’t cut it when things are so serious for so many people. These factors will be tested in the coming months.”