KHAN RE-ELECTED AS LONDON MAYOR

Sadiq Khan has been re-elected mayor of London following a final round run-off against Shaun Bailey.  The result was much closer than many opinion polls had predicted.

Khan's victory speech was as vacuous as his term in office.  He would not refer to his nearest rival by name and spoke of an 'overwhelming mandate' despite the fact his majority was slashed by more than 100,000.

The last placed candidate, Valerie Brown, was arrested on Saturday morning in relation to an act of vandalism at the London offices of The Guardian newspaper.  On Friday a man sprayed the facade of the offices with pink paint and Brown was held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage.  Her party - Burning Pink - is thought to be a front for Extinction Rebellion.

London Mayor (Lab HOLD)

Sadiq Khan (Lab) 1,013,721 (40.0%) -4.2%

Shaun Bailey (Con) 893,051 (35.3%) +0.3%

Siân Berry (Green) 197,976 (7.8%) +3.0%

Luisa Porritt (LDem) 111,716 (4.4%) -0.2%

Niko Omilana (Ind) 49,628 (2.0%) New

Laurence Fox (Reclaim) 47,634 (1.9%) New

Brian Rose (LRP) 31,111 (1.2%) New

Richard Hewison (Rejoin) 28,012 (1.1%) New

Count Binface (Binface) 24,775 (1.0%) New

Mandu Reid (WEP) 21,182 (0.8%) -1.2%

Piers Corbyn (LLL) 20,604 (0.8%) New

Vanessa Hudson (AWP) 16,826 (0.7%) New

Peter Gammons (UKIP) 14,393 (0.6%) -3.0%

Farah London (Ind) 11,869 (0.5%) New

David Kurten (Heritage) 11,025 (0.4%) New

Nims Obunge (Ind) 9,682 (0.4%) New

Steve Kelleher (SDP) 8,764 (0.3%) New

Kam Balayev (Renew) 7,734 (0.3%) New

Max Fosh (Ind) 6,309 (0.2%) New

Valerie Brown (Pink) 5,305 (0.2%) New

 

Final Round 

Sadiq Khan (Lab) 55.2%

Shaun Bailey (Con) 44.8%

Turnout was 42.2 per cent, down 3.1 per cent on 2016.

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LONDON TO KEEP ON FALLING

Aspiring politician Laurence Fox will get his first big test today when he stands in London's mayoral election.  A record 20 candidates are standing in the election, so Fox is among a very crowded field.  Each candidate needs at least five per cent of the vote in order to save their deposit, which is a whopping £10,000 in this election.  With the two leading candidates set to receive as much as 80 per cent between them, it doesn't take a genius to work out that most of those candidates will lose their deposits.

Fox will do well to keep his, but with a household name and big money backing his Reclaim Party, he could potentially do much better.  Some Tories are worried that his presence will 'split the vote' and hamper Shaun Bailey's chances.  Unfortunately, for everyone, Bailey has little chance of success anyway.

In the most recent opinion poll Bailey was 12 points behind Khan in the first ballot and 18 points behind in the final round.  The final round is required if no candidate achieves more than 50 per cent in the first ballot.  Khan had been polling more than 50 per cent earlier in the spring, peaking at 53 per cent in March.  Having fallen to 43 per cent on the eve of polling will dent his massive ego.

London Mayoral Poll (YouGov, 2-4 May)

Sadiq Khan (Lab) 43% (-4)

Shaun Bailey (Con) 31% (+5)

Siân Berry (Green) 10% (+1)

Luisa Porritt (LDem) 5% (-2)

Laurence Fox (Rec)  3% (-1)

Others 8% (+1)

Final Round

Khan 59% (-7)

Bailey 41% (+7)

The sample size was 1,147.  Changes are against YouGov's poll conducted 29 March-1 April.

Contrary to the warblings of some Tory backers, there is nothing wrong with Shaun Bailey's candidacy.  They will blame Bailey when he fails to defeat Khan, but the sad truth is that there was no-one else they could put forward who would have been a significant threat to the mayor of this painfully woke city.  A rapidly changing demographic killed off their chances, not their candidate.

Bailey is a great candidate who is more than a match for Khan and has the common touch that Khan lacks.  Khan is great when it comes to ego-massaging selfies with his adoring woke electorate, but he runs a mile when a disgruntled peasant approaches.  He is archetypal of the modern Labour politician - working class people are like vermin to him and the sooner they are run out of London completely the better.  The future is grim for our capital city and it seems that no matter how much crime spirals out of control, the middle classes can't get enough of Khan.

For now all we can hope is that Bailey does better than expected and Fox, too.  A saved deposit for the latter would spare his blushes and give him a base on which to build.  The continuing overlap between his party and Reform may lead to an official merger later on, but the British people are crying out for a third party to challenge the two-party protection racket that offers nothing but lockdown and misery.

London Mayoral Candidates

Shaun Bailey (Conservative)

Kam Balayev (Renew)

Siân Berry (Green)

Count Binface (Count Binface Party)

Valerie Brown (Burning Pink)

Piers Corbyn (Let London Live)

Max Fosh (Ind)

Laurence Fox (Reclaim)

Peter Gammons (UKIP)

Richard Hewison (Rejoin EU)

Vanessa Hudson (Animal Welfare)

Steve Kelleher (SDP)

Sadiq Khan (Labour)

David Kurten (Heritage)

Farah London (Ind)

Niko Omilana (Ind)

Nims Obunge (Ind)

Luisa Porritt (Lib Dem)

Mandu Reid (Women's Equality)

Brian Rose (London Real)

EX-LABOUR MAYOR JOINS TORIES

The former mayor of Islington has sensationally joined the Conservatives.  Rakhia Ismail quit Labour in September, citing 'discriminatory behaviour', and subsequently lashed out at the Islington leadership, the national leadership and Sadiq Khan.  The knife crime campaigner, who had been an independent since leaving Labour, now becomes the first Conservative councillor in Islington since 1998.

Ismail discusses her decision to join the Tories in a video posted online by Shaun Bailey, Tory candidate for London mayor.  Ismail met Shaun last month during a protest outside City Hall.  Sadiq Khan refused to engage with her and her fellow knife crime campaigners, but Bailey did, and now that encounter appears to have paid off.

Watch below.

While this is an impressive coup for Shaun Bailey's campaign, the latest opinion poll for the mayoral election suggests he still has a huge mountain to climb.  Despite everything Sadiq Khan actually increased his poll lead last month, up two points to a whopping 50 per cent.  Meanwhile, Bailey was stuck on 28 per cent and heading for a humiliating first round defeat (if Khan gets 50 per cent he wins outright with no need for second preference votes).

Will the support of a Somali-born Muslim encourage multi-cultural London to back Bailey?

COVERING THE COST OF KHAN

Tory London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has waded into the row over a second bailout for Transport for London (TfL).  During Prime Minister's Questions this week Boris Johnson was heavily critical of Sadiq Khan, accusing the Mayor of effectively bankrupting TfL prior to the pandemic.  Khan hit back on Twitter, saying the funding crisis was solely down to Covid-19.

TfL was initially bailed out in May with a £1.6billion government injection, but less than six months later TfL bosses say that a further £2billion is required just to keep things moving until Christmas!  Given that lockdown occurred at the end of March, a collapse within just two months suggests that things were not quite as healthy as Khan suggests.  But then of course his bizarre slashing of services at the height of the pandemic wouldn't have helped.  In fact the crammed trains that resulted from the reduction only helped the spread of the virus.  What a clown.

Bailey told TalkRadio's Dan Wootton yesterday that Khan is correct to say that TfL's deficit had fallen prior to the pandemic, but the level of debt had risen to record levels.  Click below for the video.

Wootton is quite right to point out that Khan is only interested in doing mainstream media interviews, in which he knows he will be given an easy ride.  The only radio show he is interested in doing is James O'Brien at LBC, who as a centrist Remainer can always be relied on to give his pal a free ride.

ISLINGTON'S FORMER MAYOR TELLS ALL

Rakhia Ismail, former mayor of Islington

When Rakhia Ismail sensationally quit the Labour Party last month she promised a full statement in due course.  At the time she cited 'discriminatory behaviour' and 'oppression'.  There followed weeks of silence, but she has now spoken out with further details of the horrific abuse she suffered.  The long list of incidents she has revealed are as follows.

1. She was allegedly told to be quiet during a meeting
2. She was allegedly shouted at by a colleague after she raised the issue of knife crime
3. An invite to Labour's national women's conference had 'Somalia' written underneath her address (her birthplace)
4. The official mayoral Twitter account was withheld from her

Bear in mind that this exhaustive list took six years to compile.  Ismail says she has been agonising over her decision to quit for 'over five years' and blames a 'white establishment mentality' for forcing her out.  She also appeared to suggest that there was a degree of misogyny at play: "I was battling with a party system that simply allows white men to have what they want, when they want".  A cursory glance at Islington Borough Council's website suggests that of Labour's 46 councillors only 17 are white men.

Much of Ismail's frustration appears to be rooted in her repeated attempts to get knife crime on the council's agenda.  She also lashed out at Sadiq Khan when she resigned, telling the Islington Tribute: "Sadiq Khan has totally failed us.  He is failing every child that is killed on the streets, not just those in the Somali community, but all of them".  The resentment she feels about Khan wasn't helped recently when she and her fellow campaigners protested outside City Hall and challenged the Mayor to meet with them.  Khan did not appear, but his Conservative opponent Shaun Bailey did.

Tory candidate Shaun Bailey discusses knife crime with Rakhia Ismail
and her fellow campaigners

However, Ismail's biggest beef is with the leader of Islington Borough Council - Cllr Richard Watts.  He has been the council leader since 2013, before she was elected the following year.  In a video posted on social media last week she called on him 'and the whole Islington leadership' to resign, alleging that they were guilty of 'Islamophobia' and treated the Muslim community 'like second class citizens'.  She also appears to suggest that Labour voters should consider backing another party in future.  Click below for the video.

She also lashed out at Keir Starmer in an interview with the Huffington Post, saying that he 'is not interested in talking to people' like her, despite contacting his office earlier this year.  The only senior Labour figure she's had anything good to say about since she quit the party is Emily Thornberry, who is one of Islington's two MPs (the other being Jeremy Corbyn).  Last week she thanked Thornberry in a tweet for 'all her support'.

A spokesperson for Islington Labour responded to Ismail's revelations: "While we are saddened that Rakhia has taken such a step, the allegations she has made were not pertaining to new or recent events.  They had already been investigated and resolved in line with party procedures.  Cllr Ismail attended a number of meetings as part of this process and many steps were made to support her in her role as a Labour councillor.  We are sincerely sad that Cllr Ismail felt she was unable to continue as a Labour councillor despite resolution being reached".

Ismail looks set to continue as a councillor for the remainder of her term as an independent.

KHAN'S GET OUT OF JAIL CARD?

Sadiq Khan's Tory opponent has claimed that the Mayor is desperate to lock down London in order to cover up for his failures on crime, housing and transport.  Shaun Bailey told TalkRadio's Julia Hartley-Brewer that Khan is using the virus to 'terrorise' Londoners as a distraction.  Bailey's bookshelf is also something of a fascinating distraction during this interview, featuring an eclectic mix of titles on art, cookery, black history and Marvel comics.  There's even a toy figure of Iron Man lurking on one shelf.

Watch below.

It's certainly very odd that we have one Labour mayor (Andy Burnham) fighting a local lockdown, while another is begging for one.  Khan is fundamentally untrustworthy says Bailey, but then he would say that.  Unfortunately for Bailey he is still trailing Khan by 20 percentage points in the polls.

LONDON LABOUR BACK CHINA

A call to de-twin London from Beijing has been opposed in the London Assembly by the Labour Party.  Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey had tabled a motion for the immediate de-twinning of the cities over China's treatment of both the Uighur Muslims and Hong Kong.  Strangely, there was no mention of coronavirus, despite growing evidence that China lied about the spread of the virus leading to the collapse of Western economies and hundreds of thousands dead.

Bailey's motion read as follows.

This Assembly notes that on 21 June the Government formally suspended extradition

arrangements with Hong Kong, following the imposition of controversial new security

laws on the territory by the Chinese Communist Party.  This is a significant step and

recognises the Chinese Communist Party’s actions with regard to Hong Kong as an abuse

of human rights.

In addition, this Assembly also condemns the ongoing persecution of Uigher Muslims, and

notes the ongoing international concerns regarding the Chinese Communist Party’s

human rights record.

This Assembly believes London is a truly global city, and therefore has a responsibility to

show that we support democracy, human rights and people across the world.  Therefore, in

light of ongoing human rights and other abuses by the Chinese Communist Party, this Assembly calls on the Mayor to rescinding of the twinning arrangement agreed in 2006.

The motion was defeated by nine votes to eight with Labour AMs voting against and the Greens abstaining.  Was this merely a case of two left-wing parties opposing a Tory motion for the sake of it, or were they more interested in defending the interests of the Chinese Communist Party?

This afternoon @LondonLabour sided with the Chinese Government and turned their back on the Uyghur Muslim community, as well as the people of Hong Kong.

My motion won cross party support, but lost 9-8.

I oppose genocide. @LondonLabour apparently don’t. https://t.co/WZePgU3Nj7

— Shaun Bailey (@ShaunBaileyUK) September 10, 2020

Labour hit back by saying that their own motion condemning the Chinese government had passed.  However, the Labour motion contained nothing but a series of limp-wristed proposals including a review into 'the future viability of twinning arrangements'.  The final two paragraphs of the motion condemned an (alleged) rise in Sinophobia following the pandemic and called on Khan to write to Priti Patel demanding a 'hate crime action plan' to deal with the (alleged) problem.

Sorry London Labour, but hasn't government already got its hands full dealing with real problems - like the resurgence of a virus unleashed on the world by China?

KHAN STILL ON COURSE FOR LANDSLIDE

The latest opinion poll for next year's London mayoral election shows that Sadiq Khan still commands a huge lead over his Tory challenger.  The Redfield and Wilton poll was carried out between 5-7 August and uses a sample size of 2,500.  Comparing it to the other most recent poll - carried out by YouGov in March - Khan remains on 49 per cent, while the Conservative's Shaun Bailey has gained two percentage points and is up to 26 per cent.

At 49 per cent Khan is well within the margin of error to take victory in the first round of voting, for which a candidate requires more than 50 per cent of the vote.  This comes despite Khan's woeful record during the pandemic, from his disastrous slashing of public transport services to his avoidance of scrutiny in the Greater London Assembly.

There is better news for Shaun Bailey in head-to-head polling.  If Khan fails to reach the 50 per cent threshold he would go up against Bailey in a run-off.  The latest poll suggests the result would be 61-39 in Khan's favour.  This is 12 points closer than it was in March, when YouGov scored it 67-33 in Khan's favour.

However, the latest polling figures present barely any advance at all when compared to the first YouGov poll conducted almost two years ago.  In December 2018 Bailey was polling 28 per cent in the first round and 38 per cent in the run-off.  The failure to make any impact on Khan's lead has led some in the party to suggest that Bailey should be given the elbow in favour of a 'big hitter'.  Either way, time is running out if they want to avoid a crushing defeat in just eight months time.

BAILEY LASHES OUT AT 'POINTLESS' KHAN

Shaun Bailey

Sadiq Khan continues to evade the scrutiny of the London Assembly and by the time he finally makes an appearance at Mayor's Question Time in a fortnight it will have been more than two months since he last appeared.  During the pandemic he has overseen a disaster on Transport for London, for which he is directly responsible.  By slashing services early on in the pandemic he provided the virus with the perfect breeding ground as key workers crammed into packed carriages.  Many TfL staff have since perished on Khan's watch.

Of course whenever Khan faces questions (on anything) he deflects blame onto central government, a fact not lost on his Conservative opponent Shaun Bailey.  Speaking to TalkRadio's Dan Wootton last week, Bailey asked what was the point of Khan if he doesn't actually make any decisions independent of central government.  Khan was very busy spouting off in the media about compulsory face masks on public transport a few weeks ago, but he hasn't acted on it.

The full interview can be found below.

Khan refuses to speak to TalkRadio, instead he will only give interviews to his Remainer pal on LBC Radio - James O'Brien.  He was with O'Brien again today, but he won't speak to Nick Ferrari or anyone else as he is not guaranteed such an easy ride.  Khan is a coward, but he can't hide forever.

KHAN'S WOKE VIRTUES

For the few, not the many:  Smug Khan is adored in woke London

When Sadiq Khan was heckled at Regent's Park Mosque recently, it was small payback for his constant pandering to minorities who are not necessarily compatible with the Islamic faith.  You're just as likely to see him releasing a video message praising the contribution of Jews and Hindus as you are praising members of his own faith.  The truth is that Sadiq has strayed far from his roots, perhaps initially for votes, but it's now clear from his smug narcissistic exterior that he revels in adoration from sections of London society.  From white sneering middle class Remainers to drag queens and dildo waving gays, he is idolised and - if the polls are to be believed - nailed on for victory in May.  He knows this and appears to grow ever more smug about it.  Here he can be seen using trans lingo to mock his Conservative opponent Shaun Bailey at an LGBT event.

There were plenty of glowing tributes to Khan following his appearance at Labour's LGBT gathering on Thursday night.  He bared a hand written LGBT message on his chest and posed for photos with a variety of sordid characters, after which he retweeted numerous messages of support, some of which appeared to call on Londoners to vote for Khan simply because he was an LGBT 'ally'.  This is hardly a major policy area in which to attract support from the masses, but it makes the Mayor feel good about himself.

While Khan retains a huge loyal following in woke London, there will be many in forgotten London who won't countenance a vote for him in May.  In stark contrast to Khan's colourful and largely irrelevant embrace of identity politics, his Tory opponent can be seen on the streets with police officers and community workers.  It's not gone unnoticed that Khan is reluctant to even mention the word crime.  Cavorting with transvestites is not going to cut it with most voters, those who just want to feel safe when they leave their homes.  It's certainly not going to cut it down at the mosque either.

In a wide field of candidates with so many to choose from, many of those who won't vote Khan won't vote Bailey either.  In the end it will be the large majority of law abiding citizens who suffer while Khan's liberal merry-go-round of wokeness continues unchecked.

GROW UP LADS

The slanging match between Donald Trump and Sadiq Khan reignited from out of nowhere today.  A tweet from Katie Hopkins somehow caught the attention of the President and he retweeted it along with a renewed attack on the under fire Khan.

LONDON needs a new mayor ASAP. Khan is a disaster - will only get worse! https://t.co/n7qKI3BbD2

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2019

These two squabbling children ought really to focus on their own issues.  Both of them have big elections coming up next year and these tirades do absolutely nothing to enhance their re-election efforts.  It confirms only that they are supremely arrogant and cocksure of victory.  That's a dangerous place to be, just ask Hillary Clinton.

Sadly, the useless Khan is likely to be around a while longer yet.  Despite his approval rating falling into negative figures recently, he was still miles ahead of his nearest rival in the most recent opinion poll.  The Conservative's Shaun Bailey has a lot of catching up to do if he is to stand a chance of toppling Khan next year, seeing as it appears that no matter how much crime spirals out of control the capital appears to prefer a 'stone cold loser'.

Clearly a lot will hinge on the 'B' word and at the moment Bailey is the only Brexiteer taking part in the contest.  If we Leave and the dire predictions of the Remainers prove false it could go in his favour.  However, at the moment most London voters are at odds with the rest of England in their vision for Brexit.  They don't want it to happen full stop.  If we haven't left the EU by May 2020 it's difficult to see how Shaun Bailey could successfully appeal in this Remain heartland.

Sure, there's a lot more to the next mayoral election than Brexit, but Khan's continuing inaction on crime and lack of ideas should have him trailing in polls - not leading them.  The only thing we know for certain is that whoever wins in 2020, the opinions of world leaders - no matter who they are - is going to have little bearing on the result.