Sadiq Khan has urged young Londoners to vote in the mayoral election, saying a shock victory for the Conservatives’ Susan Hall would be like waking up to Donald Trump in power or Brexit in 2016. With his lead in the polls appearing to narrow, the Labour mayor said there were concerns that low turnout among younger voters would allow a Tory mayor to “sneak in” to City Hall. Labour sources said the party’s internal data suggested fewer than half of 18- to 24-year-olds were aware that photo ID was needed to cast their ballot, compared with 98% of over-65s. Khan has been continuously more than 20 points ahead of his nearest rival, Hall, but the recent Savanta poll for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London put the gap at more like 13 points. In 2021, Khan beat his Conservative rival, Shaun Bailey, by just 4.7% in the first round of voting after polls had put him 20 points ahead in April of that year. There appears to be a big age divide in voting intention, according to the Savanta poll. It found about 54% of 18- to 34-year-olds in the capital plan to support Khan, but 53% of Londoners aged 65 and over intend to support Hall.
With less than a week to go before the election, Khan said he was “worried we could be looking at a repeat of the Brexit referendum and the Trump victory in 2016, where young people wake up shocked because they didn’t make their views heard at the ballot box”. He said: “In the 2020 US elections, turnout among young people helped the Democrats defeat Donald Trump. I’m asking younger Londoners to do the same in London and ensure we don’t let the Tory candidate win in our city.”
Khan, who is seeking a third term as London mayor, described Hall as a “hard-right Tory candidate who would take our city backwards. The Tory candidate is an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, has endorsed Enoch Powell’s racist views and promoted Islamophobic tropes online.” He added: “We need to protect London’s values, London’s diversity and everything that makes our city so special. “All the things younger Londoners care about are also on the line – from free school meals, TfL fares being frozen and free skills training, to new affordable housing to buy and rent, funding for youth clubs and action to tackle homelessness and the climate crisis. So I urge young Londoners – please come out and lend me your vote.” The Savanta poll put the Liberal Democrat candidate, Rob Blackie, and the Green candidate, Zoë Garbett, on about 9-10% of the vote. Hall has focused her campaign on protecting Londoners from crime. She said: “Sexual offences are up, and after eight years of Sadiq Khan, the current way of doing things just is not working. I will appoint a women’s commissioner to make sure we sort this out. “My policing plan will put 1,500 more officers on the beat, two new police bases in every borough, and put the police back into the communities they serve – all backed by a £200m investment. “We cannot go on as we are. Women deserve to not only feel safe in our city, but to know that they are safe.”