Don’t bet against Red Ken returning to City Hall in 2012. The latest YouGov poll on the London mayoral race puts the Labour candidate ahead of Boris on first preferences by 45 per cent to 43. By contrast, an earlier poll published in October showed Boris ahead by 46 per cent to 44.
The significant support for Livingstone suggests that his age (he will turn 67 in June 2012) and his political baggage aren’t necessarily barriers to his re-election. There are still other candidates to come, not least from the Greens and the Lib Dems, who could cut into Ken’s vote, but this poll will reassure Labour that it made the right choice.
As on previous occasions, the result is almost certain to be determined by second-preference votes. Asked who they would rather have as mayor – a question that aims to reflect second preferences – voters still favour Boris by 45 per cent to 42, although his lead has narrowed from 5 points in October.
In the coming months we can expect Boris to do even more to try to differentiate himself from Cameron and Osborne. As I noted last week, growing opposition to the speed and scale of the coalition’s cuts means Labour’s poll lead has widened from 3-5 points to 7-9 points. Boris’s challenge is to achieve what Ken could not and prove that national unpopularity is no barrier to local success.
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