Labor leader Sadiq Khan wins London mayoral election for third time

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, representing the Labor Party, for the third time won in the mayoral elections of the British capital. This is the first time in history that Khan’s predecessors as mayor held this position for only two terms.

Khan’s victory was reported by British media on Saturday. The elections took place on May 2 – along with local council elections in other regions of England. Khan received just over a million votes, which amounted to 43.7% of those who took part in the elections. His Tory rival Susan Hall trailed by more than 10%. At the same time, as the votes were counted on Friday evening, the Conservatives hoped for victory.

Khan succeeded Boris Johnson as London mayor in 2016 and was re-elected in 2021.

In general, opposition Labor has achieved significant success in local elections in England, which may indicate their good chances of winning in the parliamentary elections, which will take place in less than a year. According to preliminary data After the votes were counted, Labor gained an additional 231 seats on regional councils, while the ruling Conservatives lost 396 seats. As a result, in terms of the absolute number of mandates, the Conservatives found themselves in third place, behind not only Labor, but also the Liberal Democrats. There will be 50 regional councils in England under Labour’s control – almost half. The Conservatives will only have six left.

The British press writes about a curious thing that happened during the elections. Members of the election commission didn’t let me vote to former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson because he did not have a photo ID with him. Johnson, in a column in the Daily Mail, thanked them for enforcing the law. It was the Johnson government that initiated the adoption of amendments in 2022, according to which voters necessary Carry a photo ID with you. Since there are no internal passports in Britain, a driver’s license, pension card or a number of other documents will do. Previously, however, even this was not required of voters.