Labour’s Sadiq Khan has been re-elected as Mayor of London in a closer contest for the capital than many had predicted.
Opinion polls had suggested his Conservative rival Shaun Bailey would be a distant second in the race for City Hall.
Mr Khan took 1,206,034 votes after second preferences were taken into account, compared to Mr Bailey at 977,601.
It was announced Mr Khan had won a second term at 11pm on Saturday, amid earlier suggestions that the declaration would be delayed until Sunday.
The result will be a glimmer of hope to the Labour Party after it received a drubbing in local elections in England, losing control of a host of councils and a humiliating defeat in the Hartlepool by-election.
Mr Khan was first elected mayor of the capital in 2016 in a landslide victory, breaking the Conservatives’ eight-year hold on City Hall.
Khan: 55.2% (-1.6%)
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) May 8, 2021
Bailey: 44.8% (+1.6%)
Not an enormous change on four years ago, though given general bonus for incumbents, such as that we saw for Burnham/Houchen, must be a bit disappointing for Khan.
More to follow