Voters in England and Wales are going to the polls on Thursday, May 2, to elect a number of local government officials, but the most-watched race is in London, where the incumbent mayor, the Labour Party’s Sadiq Khan, is seeking a third term as he runs against 12 other candidates.
The three other contenders dominating the air waves are Conservative candidate Susan Hall, Liberal Democrat (Lib Dem) Rob Blackie and the Green Party’s Zoë Garbett. Also running is independent candidate, Delhi-born Tarun Ghulati.
Crime and safety have been top of the list for voters as has the related topic of confidence in the Met (Metropolitan Police). On Tuesday a sword-wielding man killed a 14 year old child and injured several other people in London, where blade related crimes are high relative to other cities. The cost of living, especially as it impacts housing and transport costs is another crucial manifesto issue for candidates.
Mr. Khan’s main pledge is free primary school meals. He introduced these at the start of the 2023 school year as an emergency measure to help parents with the cost of living crisis. He is now proposing making the scheme permanent. He has also pledged to increase policing and is in competition with Ms. Hall over how many new police offers they will deploy.
The incumbent’s other priorities include affordable housing and transport – but with Londoners reeling from higher costs of living than when he assumed office, Mr. Khan has the added task of defending his record so far. A YouGov poll report released on Wednesday said 47% of potential voters planned to vote for Mr. Khan while 25% planned to vote for Ms Hall (1,192 adults surveyed between April 24-30). Nevertheless, respondents were split on his record to date, with 41% approving and 46% saying he has done a bad job.
One of the messages of the Khan campaign has been that he will be able to achieve much more than in the last few years if there is a Labour Chancelor of the Exchequer and government following the U.K.’s general election later this year.
Ms. Hall, a London Assembly member, has said that she will increase the number of police officers and introduce Borough-based policing to tackle crime (i.e., more localised police forces). She has also said she will end the expanded Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) on day 1. The expanded zone, which imposes congestion charges on certain vehicles, was created by Mr. Khan in August last year. The mayor has defended the expansion of the zone and has linked it to better health and environmental outcomes for Londoners.
Ms. Hall has previously courted controversy for her comments on crime in the black community and for her social media style – where she ‘liked’ racist posts, including some involving Mr Khan, who is Muslim.
Reforming the Met is the main priority for the Lib Dem candidate, Mr Blackie, who was the victim of a violent mugging some years ago. “One night I was attacked while walking home from work. My neck was broken, and I was lucky to live,” he said on his campaign page.
Ms. Garbett, who reminds voters repeatedly that she is a home renter (and not owner), is focused on transport fare reform and rent control and regulation in the city.
