Livingstone and Johnson neck and neck in Mayoralty race

A survey is showing Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone running neck-to-neck in the race to become the next Mayor of London.

According to a YouGov poll, Boris Johnson has lost his lead over rival and former London mayor Ken Livingstone, with a small majority of those polled saying they would vote for Mr Livingstone if an election was held ‘tomorrow’. However, the poll suggests Mr Johnson would cling onto the job by winning the majority of second preference votes.

The results of the poll show a surprising reversal for the October YouGov poll, which revealed Boris Johnson ahead by 46 to 44 per cent. Current results throw the race for the top job wide open with 45 against 44 per cent in favour of Ken Livingstone. The wild card is the second preference vote, where Boris is still in the lead by 45 to 42 per cent, still a close call.

With the Labour party’s  London poll lead at 16 points, YouGov director Anthony Wells said the two candidates are neck-to-neck and it’s coming down to the second preference vote. However, Mr Livingstone’s term in office is likely to be remembered more for the congestion charge and its now-scrapped extension and the introduction of the much-derided bendy-buses than for any achievements. Both were PR and practical disasters which may prevent him from getting another crack at London’s problems.

Mr Johnson, whose victory was down to his galvanising the Tory vote, is beginning his campaign by appointing a troubleshooter for London’s outer boroughs. Bexley council leader Teresa O’Neill will help the mayor tackle housing, employment and transport issues in the outer boroughs, working with the Outer London Commission. According to Mr Johnson, during previous mayoral terms, the needs of the city’s far-flung suburbs have traditionally been ignored.