London set for first Muslim mayor

Britain's main opposition Labour party yesterday claimed victory for its candidate Sadiq Khan as mayor of London ahead of the formal announcement of final results, report agencies.
"Congratulations Sadiq Khan. Can't wait to work with you to create a London that is fair for all!" Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote on Twitter.
Khan, who would be the city's first Muslim mayor, is on course for victory over Conservative Zac Goldsmith.
The result would bolster leader Jeremy Corbyn after Labour were beaten into third in Scotland by the Tories and lost English councillors.
In Scotland, the SNP said it would form a minority government after winning its third election in a row in Scotland.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is celebrating what she said was an "emphatic" victory, her first as party leader, after the SNP emerged as the largest party at Holyrood with 63 seats, ahead of the Conservatives on 31 and Labour on 24.
But she played down talk of another independence referendum after falling short by two seats of an overall majority.
In Wales, Labour remains as the largest party, with 29 out of 60 seats, but was denied a majority as Plaid Cymru and UKIP both made notable gains. Counting is continuing in Northern Ireland although it has been a good day so far for the DUP and Sinn Fein.
Khan's expected victory would end nearly a decade of Conservative control of City Hall. The former Labour MP and minister, 45, would become London's third mayor after Johnson and Ken Livingstone.
Although the result has yet to be declared he got 44.2% of first preference votes to Goldsmith's 35.6% - second preference votes are now being counted with Khan set to pass the crucial 50% mark when they are added in.
Khan distanced himself from Corbyn during the campaign, pledging to freeze fares on the capital's transport network and build more affordable housing, but also promising to champion business and cut taxes on enterprise.
A Labour victory in the capital was seen as a minimum expectation if Corbyn was to avoid a full-blown leadership crisis after the party suffered one of its worst ever results in Scotland - losing 13 seats and being pushed into third place by the resurgent Scottish Conservatives.
Speaking before Mr Khan's victory, Corbyn talked up Labour's performance, saying it had defied predictions by retaining control of councils in the south of England such as Southampton, Hastings, Crawley and Norwich.
His victory follows a controversial campaign in which the Conservatives were accused of trying to smear Khan by accusing him of sharing a platform with extremists - tactics defended by ministers but questioned by some in the party.
"All across England last night we were getting predictions that we were going to lose councils," he said on a visit to Sheffield. "We didn't. We hung on and we grew support in a lot of places."
Allies of Corbyn have called on critics within the party to rally round the leader, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell urging an end to "carping" and shadow environmental minister Clive Lewis said they should "put up or shut up".
But former shadow minister Michael Dugher said Labour was "not on a trajectory to victory" in the next general election, scheduled for 2010 while former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie said Labour should have done much better.

 

London set for first Muslim mayor

Britains main opposition Labour party yesterday claimed victory for its candidate Sadiq Khan as mayor of London ahead of the formal announcement of final results, report agencies. Congratulations Sadiq Khan. Cant wait to work with you to create a London that is fair for all! Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote on Twitter. Khan, who would be the citys first Muslim mayor, is on course for victory over Conservative Zac Goldsmith. The result would bolster leader Jeremy Corbyn after Labour were beaten into third in Scotland by the Tories and lost English councillors. In Scotland, the SNP said it would form a minority government after winning its third election in a row in Scotland. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is celebrating what she said was an emphatic victory, her first as party leader, after the SNP emerged as the largest party at Holyrood with 63 seats, ahead of the Conservatives on 31 and Labour on 24. But she played down talk of another independence referendum after falling short by two seats of an overall majority. In Wales, Labour remains as the largest party, with 29 out of 60 seats, but was denied a majority as Plaid Cymru and UKIP both made notable gains. Counting is continuing in Northern Ireland although it has been a good day so far for the DUP and Sinn Fein. Khans expected victory would end nearly a decade of Conservative control of City Hall. The former Labour MP and minister, 45, would become Londons third mayor after Johnson and Ken Livingstone. Although the result has yet to be declared he got 44.2% of first preference votes to Goldsmiths 35.6% - second preference votes are now being counted with Khan set to pass the crucial 50% mark when they are added in. Khan distanced himself from Corbyn during the campaign, pledging to freeze fares on the capitals transport network and build more affordable housing, but also promising to champion business and cut taxes on enterprise. A Labour victory in the capital was seen as a minimum expectation if Corbyn was to avoid a full-blown leadership crisis after the party suffered one of its worst ever results in Scotland - losing 13 seats and being pushed into third place by the resurgent Scottish Conservatives. Speaking before Mr Khans victory, Corbyn talked up Labours performance, saying it had defied predictions by retaining control of councils in the south of England such as Southampton, Hastings, Crawley and Norwich. His victory follows a controversial campaign in which the Conservatives were accused of trying to smear Khan by accusing him of sharing a platform with extremists - tactics defended by ministers but questioned by some in the party. All across England last night we were getting predictions that we were going to lose councils, he said on a visit to Sheffield. We didnt. We hung on and we grew support in a lot of places. Allies of Corbyn have called on critics within the party to rally round the leader, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell urging an end to carping and shadow environmental minister Clive Lewis said they should put up or shut up. But former shadow minister Michael Dugher said Labour was not on a trajectory to victory in the next general election, scheduled for 2010 while former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie said Labour should have done much better.