The first London mayor Sadiq Khan won a historic third term by beating conservative Susan Hall by over one million votes in the recent election. The announcement came at the City Hall after voting in the capital's 14 Assembly constituencies in the recent election.
The mayoral contest had grabbed a lot of attention as the election was going on amid scrutiny of Khan's effort to curb street crime, particularly on theft, shoplifting, and knife-related cases, and the controversial expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone, bringing in a daily charge of £12.50 on non-compliant vehicles in the defined areas of the capital.
Hall campaigned against crime, especially against the closure of 36 police stations by Khan and the failure to recruit over 1,000 new officers. She held up statistics showing rising crime since Khan's ascension to power in 2016, and she thundered against him, warning Londoners that his victory means neglect of their concerns will go on.
Unlike Khan, Hall had promised to bolster the police. She promised to recruit 1,500 new policemen, the establishment of two police stations in every borough, reintroduction of borough-based policing, and tough measures against knife crime, women, and theft.
Keir Starmer, a prominent leader of the Labour Party, vied with the campaign of one of the Labour leaders to shift away from the Conservative Party's reign to governance under the Labour Party's brand of revival.
In the last few days leading up to the mayoral polls, PM Rishi Sunak appealed to Londoners to shift their vote to the Conservative Party by condemning rising crime rates, taxes, and the ULEZ in the city.
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