Labour's Sadiq Khan has vowed to "build a brighter future" after he was reelected last night (May 8) with over 55 per cent of the vote in London's mayoral election.
With his victory over Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey, Khan provided a bright spot for progressives amid largely disappointing local election results for Kier Starmer's Labour Party in other areas of the country.
When second-preference votes were counted, Khan won handily over his Conservative Party rival, garnering 1,206,034 votes overall, some 55.2 per cent of the total, while Bailey scored 977,601 or 44.8 per cent.
The Green Party's Sian Berry came in third with 197,976 votes or 7.8 per cent, while all other candidates including the fourth-placed Liberal Democrat Luisa Porritt lost their £10,000 deposit by failing to secure at least five per cent of votes.
Speaking after his election victory was confirmed, Khan pledged to "strain every sinew" in rebuilding London amid the fallout from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Thank you London. It’s the absolute honour of my life to serve the city I love for another three years.
I’ll leave no stone unturned to get our city back on its feet.
A brighter future is possible, and we’ll deliver it together. pic.twitter.com/kwA1awEten
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) May 8, 2021
"I’m deeply humbled by the trust Londoners have placed in me to continue leading the greatest city on earth," he said.
"I promise to strain every sinew to help build a better and brighter future for London after the dark days of the pandemic.
"And to create a greener, fairer and safer city - where all Londoners get the opportunities they need to fulfil their potential.
"I'm proud to have won an overwhelming mandate today.
"I want to thank everyone who voted for me – Labour voters and non-Labour voters. And I also want to speak directly to every Londoner who didn’t vote for me this week:
"I’ll never ignore your voice, your concerns or your worries.
"I’ll always be a Mayor for all Londoners – working to improve the lives of every single person in this city," the Labour Mayor-elect added.
Shaun Bailey for his part conceded defeat but praised his campaign that was widely acknowledged to have outperformed expectations.
.@SadiqKhan, you stood for a second term not because the role of mayor is weak — but because it’s an opportunity to deliver for the city we love.
You stood to take on challenges yourself, not to pass the buck to the government. So I hope you live up to your responsibilities.
— Shaun Bailey (@ShaunBaileyUK) May 8, 2021
In tweets acknowledging Khan's win, the Tory candidate wrote:
"Today’s result shows that while some wrote me off, Londoners didn’t.
"My campaign gave a voice to people worried about their safety, about house prices, about an ever-rising cost of living.
"Together we shone a spotlight on issues that @SadiqKhan ignored.
".@SadiqKhan, you stood for a second term not because the role of mayor is weak — but because it’s an opportunity to deliver for the city we love.
"You stood to take on challenges yourself, not to pass the buck to the government. So I hope you live up to your responsibilities."
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