Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey closes gap to Sadiq Khan
Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey is just seven points behind mayor of London Sadiq Khan in shock internal Conservative party polling.
The private polling reportedly shows Khan is leading Bailey by 42 per cent to 35 per cent on first preference voting, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The internal Tory polling has Khan winning on the second round of voting with 55 per cent of the vote, compared to 45 per cent for Bailey.
The numbers would come as a great surprise for City Hall as Khan has consistently had a large lead over Bailey in polling, including in new YouGov figures released on Friday.
The YouGov/The Times poll showed Khan had 40 per cent of first preference votes, compared to 23 per cent for Bailey.
This was marginally down from YouGov polling earlier this year showing Khan had a 20+ point lead.
The mayor of London election will be held in May 2021, after it was postponed for 12 months due to the coronavirus crisis.
Independent candidate, and former Tory cabinet minister, Rory Stewart and Liberal Democrat Siobhan Benita pulled out of the race shortly after its postponement.
Insiders told the Sunday Telegraph that the polling shows that Bailey is about as popular as Boris Johnson was at the same point prior to his victory in the 2008 mayoral election.
Bailey’s campaign has thus far been concentrated mostly on London’s increasing violent crime rates, with the London Assembly member often flashing his credentials as a former youth worker in impoverished areas.
There were rumours earlier this year that major Tory donors wanted Bailey replaced as a candidate due to poor polling, however Conservative headquarters has since put more money and resources into the campaign.
The campaign had a relaunch of sorts last month when Bailey delivered a speech that pitched himself as guardian of the working class, while Khan in contrast had “forgotten his roots” and “betrayed our communities”.