London Mayor Sadiq Khan has expressed alarm over polls suggesting the Labour Party could lose control of several borough councils in the British capital in the English local elections on May 7.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is afraid that Britain’s ruling Labour Party, of which he is a member, will lose its dominant position in the capital in municipal elections set for May 7. Khan expressed concern that his party could, according to polling released this week, lose up to 14 of the city’s borough councils, with Nigel Farage’s Reform Party and Zack Polanski’s far-left Green Party set to make considerable gains. 📺 DETAIL: At present, Labour controls 21 of London’s 32 borough councils. However, according to recent polling, widespread dissatisfaction with the party’s national leadership under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is likely to be reflected in the local elections scheduled for next month. YouGov published polling on April 22 suggesting Labour’s vote share in the capital will plummet from 42 percent during the 2022 borough elections to 26 percent next month. Khan blames Starmer’s appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson, a friend of deceased child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, as ambassador to the U.S., and the appointment’s subsequent unraveling, for the situation, telling the British press, “I’m so angry in relation to this whole omnishambles in relation to Peter Mandelson’s appointment, knowing what we knew.” 💬 KEY QUOTE: “[T]he polls scare me, the polls worry me because they don’t reflect my experience of what the councils are doing. They do reflect what I hear on the doorsteps when I knock on doors. People aren’t unhappy with me, people have concerns about the government, and they want to take it out on councils.” – Sadiq Khan 🎯 IMPACT: London has long been regarded as a Labour stronghold, and if it cannot maintain its strong position there, it is likely to face even heavier losses elsewhere in the May 7 elections. Notably, Khan’s mayoralty is not at risk, as he is not up for reelection until 2028. 📺 FLASHBACK: Khan and the Labour Party have attracted international criticism as well as domestic disdain. In December last year, President Donald J. Trump criticized Khan’s mayoralty, especially the impact of mass immigration on the capital. London has gained an international reputation for lawlessness, integration problems, and being unaffordable. Earlier this month, Khan decried online criticism of the city as “disinformation” and urged national governments and tech firms to pursue greater censorship. |
Across the capital as a whole, YouGov’s London election MRP shows big increases in Green and Reform UK support since the 2022 council elections
Labour: 26% (-16 from 2022)
Greens: 22% (+10)
Conservatives: 17% (-9)
Lib Dems: 15% (+1)
Reform UK: 14% (+14)
Others: 6% (=)… pic.twitter.com/x6dvwNXfHu— YouGov (@YouGov) April 22, 2026
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