Labour declares Sadiq Khan as mayor of London
Araweelo News Network
UK(ANN)London has its first Muslim mayor as bus driver’s son Sadiq Khan wins battle for City Hall – while Tories go to war over Zac Goldsmith’s ‘outrageous’ and ‘divisive’ campaign
Counting began at 8am and a live tracker of the result has shown Khan consistently in front
Data suggests the Labour candidate has so far got about 45% of the vote
As he faces defeat Goldsmith has come under fire from his own side
Andrew Boff, Tory leader on the London Assembly, and former deputy mayor Roger Evans have slammed Goldsmith’s negative tactics
Final results of the City Hall race will be announced in London later today
Sadiq Khan was declared the first Muslim Mayor of London tonight after comfortably defeating Tory rival Zac Goldsmith.
In a glimmer of light for Jeremy Corbyn from an otherwise dire set of election results, emerging results at City Hall made it clear there was no route to victory for Mr Goldsmith.
The official declaration is due shortly but elections expert Michael Thrasher tonight declared the contest was over based on figures already released.
The bitterly contested battle had seen Mr Goldsmith and David Cameron repeatedly raise Mr Khan’s ties to extremists.
But the interventions did not sway voters in the capital – and the Prime Minister is now facing a massive Conservative backlash over the tactics.
Mr Corbyn welcomed the victory by tweeting: ‘Can’t wait to work with you to create a London that is fair for all.’
Mr Khan scored more than a million votes on the first round alone and appeared likely to rack up the largest individual mandate in British electoral history once second preference votes were included.
Steven Norris, a former MP and mayoral candidate, insisted it was ‘no use having a dog whistle when everybody can hear it’ as he led criticism of Mr Goldsmith’s campaign.
Andrew Boff, the Conservative leader on the Greater London assembly, said the strategy had been a mistake and could damage relations with the Muslim community.
Roger Evans, a deputy to Boris Johnson at City Hall, also weighed in, warning that Mr Goldsmith’s campaign would leave a ‘negative legacy’.
In a remarkable broadside on the Tory mayoral candidate, Mr Boff said his party’s tactics could damage relations with the Muslim community.
Roger Evans, a deputy to Mr Johnson, also weighed in, warning that Mr Goldsmith’s campaign would leave a ‘negative legacy’.
And former Conservative mayoral hopeful Steven Norris pointedly said there was ‘no use having a dog whistle when everybody can hear it’.
Former Tory chairwoman Sayeeda Warsi said: ‘Our appalling dog whistle campaign for London Mayor 2016 lost us the election, our reputation & credibility on issues of race and religion.’
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio led international congratulations to the new London Mayor, tweeting: ‘Sending congratulations to London’s new Mayor and fellow affordable housing advocate, @SadiqKhan. Look forward to working together!’
The negative campaign run by the Tories looks set to have failed as a YouGov survey suggested Mr Khan is likely to be 11 points clear of his Tory rival on the first round of voting before he finishes even further ahead once other candidates are eliminated.
The poll indicates Mr Khan is set to shake off the toxic anti-Semitism row which has engulfed Labour for the past week.