Londoners don’t want Sadiq Khan to run for Mayor again
The majority of Londoners do not want Sadiq Khan to run for Mayor again in 2028, new polling has shown, with 56 per cent saying London is going in the wrong direction.
A Morning Wire/Freshwater Strategy poll of London voters has shown that three in five of the capital’s residents believe that Khan should not run again in the next set of elections.
A decision to pass the baton onto another candidate would mark an end to a 12-year run in office heading up Transport for London, London’s housing policy and the Met Police.
During his three terms so far as Mayor, Khan has overseen a fall in levels of air pollution following a range of new policies, missed house building targets and presided over a patchy record on crime.
Over the last two years, Khan has pushed ahead with plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street and secured a pay increase agreement with unions aimed at preventing further tube strikes.
London Labour MP Dawn Butler is one of those to have publicly announced their intention to stand as a Labour candidate for Mayor should Khan choose to not run again.
It is not yet clear whether Khan will choose to step aside, with a decision not expected for some time. Nearly a third (30 per cent) of those who voted for Khan in 2024 said it was time to give someone else a chance.
Polanski puts pressure on Khan
The polling also revealed that a majority of Londoners who voted for the Labour figurehead more than a year ago would consider backing Green Party leader and City Hall member Zack Polanski were he to run for Mayor.
Overall, two fifths of Londoners would consider voting for Polanski in a future election while a similar proportion (39 per cent) would not.
The Green Party leader told Morning Wire that he would look to make further gains in London council elections next year, which are separate to mayoral results.
“When I became leader, I said we were here to replace Labour – we’re well on our way to achieving that.
“My immediate focus and priority is to translate this Green surge into seats. We are looking to make big gains in next year’s London elections, local elections elsewhere in England, and gaining our first seats in the Senedd.”
Polling showed that the London Mayor fares better than several Westminster representatives in terms of favourability, with his approval ratings being some nine points higher than Keir Starmer, who is on -20, across London. His own approval rating also scores higher than for Labour among voters in the capital.
Popular green policies
While Khan also beats the likes of Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner among Londoners, his approval ratings fall behind the likes of Polanski, Zarah Sultana, Jeremy Corbyn and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
London-wide transport policies including the Ultra Low Emission Zone, more cycle lanes, 20 mile per hour zones and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods all attract a net favourability rating among Londoners polled by Morning Wire.
Some two in five London voters (39 per cent) were dissatisfied with his performance as Mayor while 32 per cent were satisfied. Among those who were unhappy with Khan’s time in office, the vast majority said they were “very dissatisfied”.
A source close to Khan said the Mayor was “getting on with the job of delivering a fairer, safer, greener city for every Londoner”, adding that he had achieved delivering more free school meals for state primary school kids, lowering the monthly homicide rate to a record low and boosting the number of cycling journeys in the capital.
Method note: Freshwater Strategy interviewed n=500 eligible voters in London, aged 18+ online, between 28 – 30 November 2025. Margin of Error +/- 4.4%. Data are weighted to be representative of London voters.