Khan makes appeal to Lib Dem and Green voters in London mayoral race

Sadiq Khan has urged Londoners who have voted Lib Dem or Green in the past to back Labour this year as “any candidate other than me just increases the chances that my opponent sneaks over the line and we wake up with a Tory mayor”.

Commenting just over a week before voters in the country’s capital head to the polls, the incumbent and Labour mayoral candidate declared that “this election is a two-horse race between me and the Tory candidate”.

“The Tory candidate is actively hostile not just to the issues Liberal Democrat and Green voters care about, but to the modern, plural and progressive values that make London so special,” Khan said this afternoon.

“That’s why I’m asking Lib Dem and Green voters to take into account my record over the last five years and to vote for London by lending me your vote.

“As mayor, I’ve always stood up for London’s liberal values, for our precious natural environment and for our incredible diversity.

“If I’m re-elected on May 6th, I promise I will continue doing everything I can to tackle the climate emergency and to deliver a fair, just and green recovery for our city from this terrible pandemic.”

Khan unveiled his manifesto earlier this month. It includes pledges to deliver 10,000 new council homes, introduce a gig economy charter, form a London drugs commission, roll out 4G on all tube lines and deliver a green new deal.

The mayoral candidate’s ten-point green new deal aims to make the city carbon neutral by 2030, placing environmental sustainability at the heart of the London Recovery Board’s (set up to coordinate the Covid recovery) mission.

It also includes supporting fossil fuel divestment; boosting active travel to 80% of journeys; reviewing the plan to deliver a zero-carbon bus fleet by 2030; building 44,000 charging points; expanding the ULEZ; raising housebuilding standards.

He has set a target of doubling the size of the green economy in London by 2030, working in collaboration with trade unions to assist communities and sectors hardest hit by the Covid pandemic, creating more than 170,000 new green jobs.

20 candidates are standing in the election next month, with Khan leading the polls with 41% of first preferences, according to polling by ComRes for ITV London. His closest rival is Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate, on 28%.

The research, which surveyed more than 1,000 adults online between April 13th and 19th, showed Lib Dem hopeful Luisa Porritt behind the two frontrunners on 8% while Sian Berry of the Green Party placed fourth with 6% of first preferences.

The poll followed an earlier survey by Opinium that suggested Khan could win the London mayoral race in the first round on the basis of first preference votes alone. The research had him on 51%, compared to 29% for the Conservative candidate.

Khan won the 2016 mayoral election 44.2% of first preferences and 56.8% of the vote in the second round. Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith secured a 43.2% share of votes in the second round, with other candidates eliminated.

Below is the full list of candidates standing to be mayor.

Shaun Bailey, Conservative
Kam Balayev, Renew Party
Sian Berry, Green Party
Count Binface (formerly known as Lord Buckethead), Independent
Valerie Brown, Burning Pink
Piers Corbyn, Let London Live
Max Fosh, Independent
Laurence Fox, Reclaim Party
Peter Gammons, UKIP
Richard Hewison, Rejoin EU
Vanessa Hudson, Animal Welfare Party
Steve Kelleher, Social Democratic Party
Sadiq Khan, Labour
David Kurten, Heritage Party
Farah London, Independent
Nims Obunga, Independent
Niko Omilana, Independent
Luisa Porritt, Lib Dems
Mandu Reid, Women’s Equality Party
Brian Rose, Independent