Sadiq Khan confirmed as Labour Party’s mayoral candidate for 2024 election

Sadiq Khan has been reselected as Labour’s candidate for London mayor ahead of the 2024 election, meaning that he will be seeking an unprecedented third term.

Khan was endorsed in a vote – of members in the 73 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) and affiliated unions and other organisations in the capital – in Labour’s ‘trigger ballot’ process. Had they not endorsed the incumbent mayor, he would have had to seek selection as the party’s candidate alongside other candidates.

The mayor said this morning that he is “proud that Labour Party members across London, affiliated organisations and trade unions have once again put their faith in me to be Labour’s candidate for mayor”.

“We’ve come a long way since 2016 when we won back City Hall after eight years of a Tory mayor. London has become a world-leader in tackling air pollution and the climate crisis. We’ve ushered in a new golden era of housebuilding, with record numbers of new council homes being built year-on-year,” he said.

“We’ve made transport more affordable for millions of Londoners and delivered the Elizabeth line. We are providing Londoners with the skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow. And violent crime is falling, bucking the national trend, due to our approach of being tough on crime and tough on the complex causes of crime. But there’s still so much more to do.”

Labour is the favourite to win the 2024 mayoral election. Nationally, the opposition is still enjoying a large lead in the polls; one poll last week predicted that the party would secure a 314-seat majority in parliament in a general election.

Khan described the next election as an opportunity for Londoners to “send a message” to the Conservatives, “not only for crashing the economy, but for their anti-London approach, the damage they’re doing to our public services, their refusal to take national action to tackle the climate emergency, and their appalling attempts to stoke division between our communities for political gain”.

“I’m more determined than ever to use all the experience and knowledge I’ve gained as mayor to deliver on the issues that matter to Londoners, including supporting them through the cost-of-living crisis,” the mayor said.

Next year’s election will be the first in the capital to take part under a first-past-the-post voting system, rather than the supplementary vote system previously used. The introduction of the requirement for voters to show photographic identification at polling stations is also thought likely to suppress Labour’s vote.

“It’s going to be a very tough election – the first using a first-past-the-post voting system in London and the new voter ID rules that appear deliberately designed to disenfranchise minority communities and disproportionately affect Labour voters,” he said.

“We simply must win to avoid the Tories taking London backwards and to ensure we can continue building a better London for everyone – a city that is fairer, greener, safer and more prosperous for all.”

Should Khan win the next mayoral election, he will be the only holder of the office to serve for three terms. Both his predecessors, Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone, served as London mayor for two terms.

Reports emerged earlier this year that Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour Party leader and MP for Islington North, was being urged by allies to run for mayor to create an “alternative power base” for his “progressive” brand of politics. Khan dismissed the reports as rumours at the time.