Sadiq Khan: Next London mayor election to be ‘toughest yet’

The Labour mayor will outline his future priorities for the capital in a speech at the Centre for London think tank’s annual conference, as he asks Londoners to entrust him with an historic third term at City Hall.

The requirement for voters to have a photo ID was introduced through the Elections Act 2022, and was used for the first time in the local elections in May this year – which took place outside of London.

Mr Khan is expected to tell conference attendees: “I’m under no doubt, this election will be the toughest yet.

“Not only will it be the first in London using the First Past The Post system, but also every Londoner will be forced to show photo ID to take part.

“Let’s just call this what it is: a cynical attempt to make it harder for people to vote. All told, 900,000 Londoners could be silenced.

“To everyone here, I ask you: use your voice to ensure no one else is denied theirs, because democracy belongs to us all.”

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The mayor’s figure is derived from Labour-commissioned Opinium polling which found that 15 per cent of Londoners do not have voter ID. A total of about six million Londoners were on the electoral register as of December last year.

The polling found that among 18 to 34 year-olds, the figure rises to 20 per cent, while reducing to 12 per cent among 35 to 49-year-olds, 13 per cent among 50 to 64-year-olds and 10 per cent among those aged 65 and over.

When Mr Khan voiced concerns about the same poll findings in October, a Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “These claims are untrue.

“The vast majority of voters in the polling station – 99.75 per cent – cast their vote successfully at the local elections in England in May.”

The Electoral Commission believes that the 0.25 per cent of voters who were unable to vote due to lack of ID is an underestimate. They said this is partly as a result of data quality issues but also because some people will have been reminded of the ID requirement before they could be recorded in the data.

Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall, along with Green candidate Zoë Garbett and Liberal Democrat candidate Rob Blackie, will also speak at Thursday’s conference.

Mayoral elections previously ensured a form of majority support for the winning candidate through the supplementary vote system, with voters able to express a first and second choice for mayor.

The new system used will only require the winning candidate to receive more votes than any other – the same as in general elections.

A poll conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies and published in the Times in September showed Mr Khan winning just 33 per cent of the vote, with his Tory rival Ms Hall close behind on 32 per cent.

The survey of 1,100 London voters also showed that if Jeremy Corbyn decides to run as an independent, it could cause Mr Khan to lose to Ms Hall, with her winning 30 per cent and the current mayor taking 25 per cent. The former Labour leader would win 15 per cent.