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24 September 2010updated 27 Sep 2015 2:12am

Ken is Labour’s new mayoral candidate

Ken Livingstone beats Oona King to win the party’s London mayoral nomination.

By George Eaton

With the Labour leadership contest in full flow, the race to become the party’s candidate for mayor of London hasn’t always received the attention it deserved. But the result has just announced by Harriet Harman and, as expected, Ken Livingstone will face Boris Johnson again in 2012.

Ken picked up 68.6 per cent of the vote to Oona King’s 31.4 per cent.

Livingstone said:

When we defeat Boris we will have played a part in rebuilding the Labour Party after the general election. Everywhere you look Boris has broken promises and taken his axe to services Londoners rely on.

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Along with the local elections, the contest will be an important test of public opinion two years in to the parliament.

Having seen off Ken in 2008, Boris starts as favourite. But by 2012, with spending cuts starting to bite, the conditions may be far from ideal for his re-election. As the contest draws closer, we can expect Boris to step up his bid to protect the capital from the “dramatic and deep cuts” planned by the Chancellor, George Osborne.

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