Sadiq Khan has just been announced as Labour’s London mayoral candidate. At an event at the Royal Festival Hall, the MP for Tooting was announced as the surprising winner by 59 per cent. Turnout in the primary was 77 per cent.
Tessa Jowell was the bookies’ favourite and the frontrunner throughout this contest, but Khan may have benefited from the tens of thousands of new members who have joined Labour to back Jeremy Corbyn for leader. The result wasn’t even close — Jowell came second with 41 per cent. Khan’s camp were confident throughout the contest that the new members would be unlikely to back Blairite Jowell and it appears they are proved right. As James points out, this suggests an easy win for Corbyn tomorrow:
Striking thing about London Mayoral result is how easily Khan won, even his campaign thought it would be close. Suggests easy Corbyn win
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) September 11, 2015
Conservatives will be delighted that Labour has chosen Khan as their mayoral candidate.
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