The one thing that could stop me being re-elected as London mayor

New rules making it compulsory to have an approved form of ID – a deliberate attempt to reduce turnout – are putting the election on a knife-edge, writes mayor of London Sadiq Khan

Sadiq Khan: ‘I am under no illusion; I could lose’ (Reuters)

The London mayoral election on 2 May is going to be a close race between me and the Tory candidate – and I am under no illusion: I could lose.

Many people don’t realise yet that the Tory government has changed the voting system to make it much more likely that their candidate will win. Instead of getting a first and second choice for mayor, this time round you will only get one vote. This means a vote for any party other than Labour only makes it more likely that Londoners will end up with a Tory mayor.

The choice could not be starker. It’s between someone who is committed to supporting Londoners through the cost of living crisis, and has a positive vision to carry on building a fairer, greener and safer London for everyone, and the hard-right Tory candidate who is hostile to progressive values and would only take us backwards.

New rules making it compulsory to have an approved form of ID – a deliberate attempt to reduce turnout – are also putting the election on a knife-edge. Analysis shows that more than 900,000 Londoners (likely to include large numbers of young people and those from minority communities) might not have valid ID and will thus be barred from exercising their democratic right to vote.

At the last London mayoral election, in 2021, I was less than 5 per cent ahead after the first round of voting. These are the finer margins we’ll now be dealing with. That’s why, today, I am making a direct appeal to Liberal Democrat and Green voters across our city to lend me their support to keep the Tories out and progressive politics in. Unlike the last time round, there is no insurance policy available by way of a second choice.

I am asking for their help so that we don’t wake up in six weeks’ time to find our city’s cherished values at serious risk with a hardline Conservative in City Hall.

I’ve always stood up for London’s open, outward-looking, pro-European and anti-racist values – as well as for climate science, women’s rights, our diversity, our LGBT+ community, and liberal democracy. London gave me the opportunity to go from the council estate where I grew up to being mayor of the greatest city in the world.

The common thread that continues to run through everything I do and stand for is ensuring that all Londoners – irrespective of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or class – can get the same shot at reaching their full potential that London gave me and my family.

That’s why we are providing free school meals to all of London’s primary school children, freezing TfL fares again to make public transport more affordable for millions of commuters, and taking bold action to tackle the climate emergency.

From introducing the world’s largest clean-air zone to tackling rough sleeping and getting London building again, with more council homes going up now than at any time since the 1970s, we’ve taken some big strides forward.

But we’ve seen the damage this government has done to the country: it’s crashed our economy, broken the NHS, stoked division in our communities, and failed to take the urgent action needed to tackle the climate emergency. We can’t allow the Tories to harm our city in the same way they’ve harmed our country.

The Tory candidate for mayor is someone who has backed the Tory government every step of the way over the past 14 years. She seems to think our diversity is a weakness. She supported a hard Brexit. She’s voted against every initiative in London to tackle air pollution and the climate crisis. And she reportedly suggested that police misconduct against women was limited to a few “bad’uns” and “wrong’uns” and could be dealt with behind closed doors.

We must protect the gains we’ve made, and the modern, plural, inclusive outlook that makes London the greatest city in the world. But to do that, I’m asking Lib Dems and Greens to lend me their votes, using their first and only choice at this election. This is the only way we can safeguard everything that makes London so special and continue building a fairer, safer and greener London for everyone.