Mayoral Election Digest: Sadiq Meets Idris

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 96 months ago
Mayoral Election Digest: Sadiq Meets Idris
Caroline Pidgeon campaigning on fares.

We get to vote for a new mayor and London Assembly on 5 May. If you can't be bothered keeping up with all the campaign developments, here's a quick roundup of the week.

They said what?

Sadiq Khan got a jump on his opponents this week by launching his full manifesto. Which is quite a bold move for early March.

He's also been hanging out with Idris Elba. Nice work if you can get it.

Zac Goldsmith's been plugging away at his green credentials, launching his environment manifesto this week. He wants 200 new pocket parks and 100 pocket farms in schools, an increase in solar power and London to move towards becoming a zero waste city. We have to wait for his transport manifesto for his pledges on air quality.

Goldsmith was also heavily criticised by Richmond AID, a disability charity the Conservative candidate is a patron of, because he voted with the government to cut £30 a week from certain disability benefits.

Lib Dem Caroline Pidgeon has had a busy week. Not only did she launch policies aimed at private renters, she's also announced plans for 3,000 more police around crime hotspots — particularly transport hubs.

Jay Foreman, maker of excellent videos, has joined Sian Berry's campaign. We've written about her proposal to replace City Airport with houses before, and now Jay comes along and does it quicker and funnier. Damn him.

UKIP's Peter Whittle has been too busy getting involved with the party's national police and crime commissioner manifesto and tweeting about migrants to announce any policies for London.

The numbers

Looking at bookies' odds over the last couple of weeks, it's clear the gamblers' cash is going on Sadiq Khan. The polls seem to be saying the same thing.

An Opinium poll for the Evening Standard puts Khan 10 points ahead of Goldsmith, taking first and second preference votes into account. Interestingly, where outer London has previously been seen as a Conservative stronghold (see Boris Johnson's previous doughnut strategy), the outer boroughs are falling evenly for Khan and Goldsmith, with Khan picking up 60% of inner London.

Opinium also asked its respondents which of the two main candidates they trusted most on issues like standing up to government, honesty and being a good ambassador for London; Khan beat or tied with Goldsmith on all counts.

However, 25% of those polled said they didn't know who they'd vote for. It's still early days, so the candidates have it all to play for.

Last Updated 13 March 2016