Labor Party sources said that Sadiq Khan won a third term as mayor of London, capping the opposition’s strong performance in the English elections.

CNN
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Sadiq Khan has won a third term as mayor of London, Labor Party sources said on Saturday, culminating a round of local elections across England that confirmed the political superiority of the main opposition party.

Early polls indicated that Khan was on track to win against his conservative challenger, Susan Hall. He has extended his control over the capital since 2016.

He follows streak across England in favor of Labour, which is in a strong position to seize power from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives in the general election in the coming months.

The Conservative Party lost control of 10 local councils and nearly 500 councilors on Thursday, suffering an electoral defeat at the hands of the public that almost everyone – including party members – expected.

But it is possible that Sunak has found enough narrow successes to withstand the challenge to his leadership, which the rebellious Conservatives have threatened depending on the outcome of Thursday’s election.

The party was hoping to retain the West Midlands mayor’s job on Saturday, having previously held the same position in the Tees Valley, giving an increasingly beleaguered Sunak something to draw on as he at least looks to unite his lawmakers in Westminster.

Thursday’s elections represent a final trial phase before general elections, which must be held by January. Sunak has resisted calls to set a date for this vote, and the Labor Party leads in the opinion polls by a large margin.

Keir Starmer’s opposition party won control of eight councils, and also achieved victory on Thursday in the Westminster by-election in Blackpool.

The results confirmed the traditional opinion poll narrative that the group was on track to win power, although Labor was unable to ride out the roaring red wave that some in the party had hoped for, as it failed in some of the toughest contests it faced.

There were also indications that dissatisfaction with the party’s stance on the Israeli war in Gaza had hurt Labor among voters in areas with large Muslim populations. In particular, the loss of Oldham Council, a town in northwest England, where Muslims make up about a quarter of the population.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, told the BBC: “We recognize the strength of feeling that exists, and of course we will continue to work as we do in every region across the country to win votes again in the future.”

If his victory is confirmed, Khan will become the first mayor of London to serve a third term since the position was created in 2000.

The city, with a population of nine million, is more multicultural, liberal and pro-European than the United Kingdom as a whole, leading Khan to sometimes clash with successive Labor leaders, especially over the issue of Brexit.

He has prioritized emissions-reduction policies in a bid to shed the city’s reputation as a major polluter, and made international headlines during a long-running campaign. General spit With former US President Donald Trump during his administration.

But critics have attacked Khan’s record on knife crime and his recent expansion of a world-first low-emissions zone, which the Conservatives said would hit poorer families outside London harder.