Sadiq Khan makes history with third term win as London mayor

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan reacts during a photo-call with supporters the day before voters go to the polls in the London Mayoral elections in London, Britain May 1, 2024. (Photo/REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe)

London's Labour mayor Sadiq Khan won a record third term after easily defeating Conservative challenger Susan Hall, United Kingdom media said after all the capital's districts reported their results.

The son of Pakistani migrants and the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when first elected in 2016, Khan, 53, becomes London's first leader to secure three terms on Saturday since the post was created in 2000.

Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party's mayor of London, appeared to be romping to victory as results from the capital pour in.

Results from nine of the 14 electoral districts show Khan, chasing a record third straight term at City Hall, at 43.5 percent and more than 10 percentage points ahead of the Conservative Party's Susan Hall.

There had been frenzied speculation that the result would be closer than previously thought, but Khan's lead so far shows a swing from Conservative to Labour.

Significance of Khan's victory

Khan, who replaced Boris Johnson as London mayor in 2016, has been an increasingly divisive figure in the past few years.

While his supporters say he has multiple achievements to his name, such as expanding housebuilding, free school meals for young children, keeping transport costs in check and generally backing London’s minority groups, his critics say he has overseen a crime surge, been anti-car and has unnecessarily allowed pro-Palestinian marches to become a regular feature at weekends.

A victory for Khan would be another positive sign for the UK's main opposition party. If Thursday's local election results were repeated in a looming national vote, Labour would remove the Conservatives from power for the first time since 2010.

“Sadiq Khan was absolutely the right candidate," said Labour leader Keir Starmer. "He has got two terms of delivery behind him and I am confident that he has got another term of delivery in front of him.”

The incumbent Labour mayors in Liverpool, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire were also reelected Saturday, a day after the party seized control of councils across England that it hasn’t held for decades.

Labour was also successful in a special election for a seat in Parliament, which if translated to a general election would lead to one of the Conservatives' biggest-ever defeats.

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Source: TRT