London mayoral election: What was the turnout as counting gets underway
Londoners cast their ballots on Thursday in the mayoral election as Sadiq Khan and Susan Hall competed to become the city’s mayor for the next four years.
Yesterday ballots were verified, which means checking that all ballots are accounted for and are in the correct ballot boxes, and turnout figures were revealed across the boroughs.
Today, vote counting is now underway at venues across London with a declaration expected later on Saturday.
Votes for the constituency and London-wide assembly members will also be counted and results declared alongside the mayoral result.
What was the mayoral election turnout?
Turnout was 40.5 per cent in the mayoral election, according to London Elects, down from 42.2 per cent in 2021, and 45.3 per cent in 2016.
Across the capital figures trended lower in inner London, where Khan’s support is more strongly concentrated, and were higher in outer London, where Hall can expect to do better.
Barnet and Camden – 39.59 per cent
Bexley and Bromley – 48.38 per cent
Brent and Harrow – 37.09 per cent
City and East (Barking and Dagenham, Canada, Newham, Tower Hamlets) – 31.17 per cent
Croydon and Sutton – 42.27 per cent
Ealing and Hillingdon – 42.98 per cent
Enfield and Haringey – 41.38 per cent
Greenwich and Lewisham – 40.33 per cent
Havering and Redbridge – 42.94 per cent
Lambeth and Southwark – 39.13 per cent
Merton and Wandsworth – 45.99 per cent
North East (Hackney, Islington, Waltham Forest) – 39.57 per cent
South West (Hounslow, Kingston Upon Thames, Richmond Upon Thames) – 45.26 per cent
West Central (Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster) – 34.98 per cent
London Elects, the body responsible for overseeing the vote counting, said the size of the electorate was 6,162,428, and just 2,495,621 ballots were cast and verified.
The city’s population amounts to just under 10m, as of 2023.
What does this mean for Sadiq Khan?
The Labour incumbent, who is hoping to secure a third term in this mayoral election, boasts more support in urban inner and central London boroughs, where voters are more likely to rely on public transport and less likely to be affected by the ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ).
But as council election results came in yesterday, it was clear Labour had lost some support in urban areas with concerns linked to the party’s position on the Israel-Gaza crisis.
However, Khan as a prominent Muslim politician, who has called for a ceasefire against the party’s stance, may have escaped some of the impact of this shift.
What does this mean for Susan Hall?
The Conservative candidate was seen as lightweight throughout the contest, with her campaign appearing to lack support from CCHQ.
Few cabinet ministers appeared alongside her at events – while Khan was joined by Labour frontbenchers including Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves – and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not join her on the campaign trail.
However, Hall, who has promised to scrap the ULEZ expansion to outer London on day one of her mayoralty, may well have hoovered up support from the outer London boroughs where voters are more heavily car-reliant and far more anti-ULEZ.
This recreation of the doughnut strategy – the idea that outer London forms a ring around the centre of the capital that votes very differently – is reflected in the higher voter turnout in some leafier boroughs such as Bexley and Bromley.
How close could the mayoral election get?
With first-past-the-post being used in the mayoral election for the first time, the race was always expected to be a lot closer this time around.
But for Hall to clinch victory there would have to be other factors at play. The Conservatives would have to lose very few votes to Reform UK, while Labour would have to lose a chunk of their vote to the Greens and the Lib Dems.
With the result not expected until later this afternoon, Morning Wire will be bringing you all the updates throughout the day via our website and app.