London Mayor Sadiq Khan has won a historic third term as Labour continues to count gains in local elections.
Mr. Khan secured 1,088,225 votes, a majority of some 275,828 over Conservative rival Susan Hall, who secured just under 813,000 votes.
Elsewhere in England, Labour’s Andy Burnham was reelected mayor of Greater Manchester, and Richard Parker ousted Tory mayor Andy Street in the West Midlands.
By Saturday evening, results had been announced in all 11 mayoral elections, with Labour candidates winning 10 of them. The main opposition party has also made significant gains in local elections.
Mr. Khan, 53, became the first Muslim mayor of the British capital in 2016. His victory was expected despite some public anger over knife crime and the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which charges drivers of older, more polluting vehicles a daily fee.
Speaking after securing a third term, Mr. Khan pledged a “constant focus” on the cost of living, crime, homelessness, and affordable housing.
He piled pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, saying “it’s time” to call a general election.
“For the last eight years, London has been swimming against the tide of a Tory government, and now, with a Labour Party that’s ready to govern again under Keir Starmer, it’s time for Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice,” he said.
“A general election will not just pave the path to a new direction for our country, but it will make bold action Londoners want to see a reality.”
Ms. Hall, who campaigned on scrapping the latest ULEZ expansion, congratulated Mr. Khan on his reelection.
She said she hopes the mayor makes policing reform and tackling crimes his top priority, and “stops patronising people.”
“He owes it to the families of those thousands of people who have lost lives to knife crime under his mayoralty,” she said.
“And I hope too that he stops patronising people, like me, who care. This isn’t an episode of The Wire, this is real life on his watch.”
In England’s East Midlands, North East, and York and North Yorkshire, Labour’s Claire Ward, Kim McGuinness, and David Skaith became the first metro mayors of the areas.
Tory incumbent Ben Houchen in Tees Valley and six incumbent Labour mayors have kept their jobs, including in Liverpool, Salford, South Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire.
In council elections, Labour has won 1,140 seats, gaining 185. The Liberal Democrats came in second, currently holding 521 seats, having gained 104 seats.
By Saturday evening, the Conservative Party was in third place with 513 seats after losing 473 of its seats.
The right-wing Reform UK has had two councillors elected, while George Galloway’s left-wing Workers Part of Britain has four.
Meanwhile, 288 seats went to the Independants, 181 went to Green, and 48 went to the Residents’ Association.
The Conservative Party has lost control of ten councils, remaining in control of six councils.
Labour and the Lib Dems gained eight and two councils, controlling 50 and 12 councils respectively.
Labour candidates won in 14 Police and crime commissioners elections, taking 10 seats from the Consevatives, which now has 17 seats.
Counting and the announcement of results are expected to continue throughout the weekend.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the prime minister should not ousted, amid speculations that Tory rebels are plotting to install a new leader if the party loses big in local elections.
Writing in The Telegraph, Ms. Braverman said the time for leadership change has “came and went,” and called on Mr. Sunak to “start shovelling” and dig the Tories out of the hole.
Ms. Braverman said the prime minister’s plan “is not working,” but claimed all was “not lost” for the Tories among voters.
“They want a reason to vote Conservative, but we are failing to provide them with one. We need to be frank about this if we are to have any chance of fixing the problem,” she said, urging Mr. Sunak to adopt “strong leadership, not managerialism” on tax, migration, the small boats, and law and order.
