2016 London mayoral election

Zac Goldsmith, Conservative candidate

Seven people registered to be the candidate for the Conservative Party.[25] Of these, three were eliminated: Philippa Roe, leader of Westminster City Council; Ivan Massow, financial services entrepreneur, gay rights campaigner, and media personality; and Sol Campbell, former Arsenal and England football player.[26] Four nominees went into a primary, with registration open anyone on the London electoral roll.[27] The candidate was announced on 2 October 2015 to be Zac Goldsmith, journalist, author and MP for Richmond Park.[28][29] The defeated nominees were: Andrew Boff, leader of the Conservative Party in the London Assembly;[25] Stephen Greenhalgh, businessman and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime;[25] and Syed Kamall, academic, Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists, and an MEP for London.[25]

Goldsmith, a member of the prominent Goldschmidt family, grew up in Ham, London. His early career was spent working in think-tanks and for The Ecologist magazine, of which he was editor from 2000 until 2006.[31][32] He left The Ecologist in 2006 when he became deputy chairman of the Conservative Party's Quality of Life Policy Group,[32] and he was elected as Conservative MP for Richmond Park at the 2010 general election. As a social and economic liberal,[33] Goldsmith has campaigned for a small state with direct democracy.[34] Goldsmith, having made his name editing an environmentalist magazine, opposed expansion of Heathrow and vowed to continue investment in public transport.[35] He stated that he was in favour of "right-to-buy" schemes for buying homes, and wanted to expand housing stock through high-density, low-rise construction.[35] Goldsmith announced his support for the UK leaving the European Union, reflecting his eurosceptic position.[36][37] Goldsmith's aristocratic background was commented on, particularly in contrast to Khan's working-class roots, though some suggested this could have given Goldsmith an advantage.[38]

Sadiq Khan, Labour candidate

Eight politicians registered an interest in becoming the Labour Party candidate, of whom two—Keran Kerai, Labour Party member in Harrow East and Neeraj Patil, former Mayor of Lambeth and former Lambeth Borough Councillor for Larkhall Ward—were not shortlisted.[39] Between 14 August and 10 September, affiliated and registered supporters and members of the Labour Party in London voted for their preferred candidate.[39] The winning candidate was Sadiq Khan, with 59% of the vote.[20] He defeated: Diane Abbott, former Shadow Minister for Public Health, candidate for leader in 2010 and MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington;[39] Tessa Jowell, former Olympics Minister and former MP for Dulwich and West Norwood;[39] David Lammy, former Universities Minister and MP for Tottenham;[39] Gareth Thomas, Shadow Foreign Office Minister, Chair of the Co-operative Party and MP for Harrow West; and Christian Wolmar, journalist, author, and railway historian.[39]

Khan was elected to Parliament as MP for Tooting at the 2005 general election. He had previously worked as a human rights lawyer.[40] After being the campaign manager for Ed Miliband in the latter's successful bid to become Labour Party leader,[41] Khan was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice in 2010, a post from which he resigned after the 2015 General Election and Miliband's resignation as Labour leader.[42]

Fifth round

Candidate		Party members		Registered supporters		Affiliated supporters		Total
		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes		%
	Sadiq Khan Y	24,983	51.0%	17,179	73.0%	5,990	65.2%	48,152		58.9%
	Tessa Jowell	24,019	49.0%	6,351	27.0%	3,203	34.8%	33,573		41.1%

Khan's selection as a candidate was seen as part of a wider move towards the left in Labour that emerged during the 2015 leadership election that followed Miliband's resignation.[20] Key policies that Khan proposed included a London 'living rent';[43] a quota system for ethnic minority officers in the Metropolitan Police;[44] increased home building;[45] and a campaign for a London Living Wage.[46] Commentators raised Khan's Muslim religion as a potential barrier to election, after a poll (not mentioning Khan by name) suggested that 31% of Londoners would be 'uncomfortable' with a Muslim mayor.[47] Khan, who was London's first Muslim MP, argued that the election of a Muslim could encourage London to become recognised as a more cosmopolitan city.[47] While Khan had stated that he would serve a full term as MP for Tooting if he were to become mayor of London,[48] he later announced that would stand down as MP for Tooting if he were elected mayor.[49]

Green Party candidate Siân Berry in 2005

Jenny Jones, the Green party's candidate in the 2012 election, and Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, declined to stand for the Green nomination.[50] Six candidates were shortlisted for the nomination,[50][51] with Siân Berry, the party's candidate in the 2008 election, selected by London-based members of the Green Party.[52] Unsuccessful nominees were Jonathan Bartley (candidate for Streatham in the 2015 general election, co-founder of Ekklesia, and Work and Pensions Spokesperson for the Green Party);[50] Tom Chance (candidate for Lewisham West and Penge in the 2015 general election and Housing Spokesperson for the Greens);[50] Benali Hamdache (Equalities Spokesperson for the Green Party, and former National Health Service researcher);[50] Rashid Nix (a Camera operator and candidate for Dulwich and West Norwood in the 2015 general election);[50] and Caroline Russell (Islington Borough Councillor for Highbury East Ward since 2014 and clean air campaigner).[50]

Berry joined the Green Party at age 28, and became a prominent green transport campaigner.[54][55] She was Principal Speaker of the Green Party from 2006 to 2007, before becoming the Green candidate for the 2008 mayoral election.[56] She first stood for election at Camden Borough Council in 2002, and was elected to the council in May 2014.[57] Having had a variety of jobs,[56] at the time of the election she was primarily an author and worked for the Campaign for Better Transport.[57] Berry made increasing affordable housing a key policy area in her mayoral campaign,[54] through brownfield building, capping rents and preventing foreign businesses from purchasing homes.[58] She aimed to prioritise sustainability oriented policies over those that seek economic growth.[59]

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat candidate

The Liberal Democrats opened their selection process on 8 June 2015. Applications were due by noon on 22 June 2015[60] and six potential nominees stood to be candidates.[61] Four of these were not shortlisted: Brian Haley, a former Labour councillor in Haringey, who also unsuccessfully stood for the Liberal Democrat candidacy in 2012; Teena Lashmore, a criminologist, community activist and Liberal Democrat candidate in Bethnal Green and Bow at the 2015 general election; Marisha Ray, a former councillor in Islington; and Paul Reynolds, former councillor.[61][62] Of the remaining candidates, Duwayne Brooks OBE, former councillor in Lewisham, withdrew due to his commitments to a review of police stop and search powers.[62] This left Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly,[63][64] as the only remaining candidate. She was selected, winning 90% of the 3669 votes on a 39% turnout, against the option to Re-Open Nominations,[65][66] as announced on 17 September 2015.[67]

Pidgeon graduated from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1994, moving to London to work in local government and later for the National Health Service.[68] She was elected as a councillor in Southwark in 1998, where she served until being elected to the London Assembly in 2008.[68] She became leader of the Liberal Democrat assembly group, a position she held after their number was reduced to just 2 in the 2012 London Assembly Election,[69] the same year in which she was awarded an MBE for public service.[70] Pidgeon promised to focus on housing, affordable childcare, air pollution and public transport.[71] She emphasised the need to ensure that workers can live in the city by using rent control and reducing public transport costs.[71]

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate was chosen via a selection committee, unlike previous mayoral candidate selections that had been made by London-based party members.[72] The supposed favourite for selection among party members was Suzanne Evans, UKIP Deputy Chairman, former Interim Leader, Welfare Spokesman and candidate for Shrewsbury and Atcham in the 2015 general election.[73] Press such as The Spectator speculated that the decision had been moved to a committee to allow for the selection of national party leader Nigel Farage's preferred candidate, Peter Whittle, Culture Spokesman and candidate for Eltham in the 2015 general election.[72][73] UKIP claimed that the changed selection process was intended to produce a candidate with the potential for receiving the most votes.[72] Whittle was eventually selected, and announced as the candidate at the UKIP party conference on 26 September 2015.[74][75] No shortlist was released but others who had stated their intention to stand had included: Alan Craig, former leader of and mayoral candidate in 2008 for the Christian Peoples Alliance, and UKIP candidate for Brent North in the 2015 general election; Peter Harris, candidate for Dagenham and Rainham in the 2015 general election; Richard Hendron, LGBT activist and candidate for Brentford and Isleworth in the 2015 general election;[73][76] Elizabeth Jones, candidate for Dartford in the 2015 general election;[51] David Kurten, candidate for Camberwell and Peckham in the 2015 general election; Winston McKenzie, perennial candidate and UKIP candidate for Croydon North in the 2015 general election;[51] and Shneur Odze, former Hackney councillor.[77]

Whittle was born in Peckham, before studying at the University of Kent.[78] He worked in journalism, before founding the New Culture Forum think-tank in 2006.[74] He became UKIP's cultural spokesperson in 2013[75] and stood for Eltham at the 2015 general election, receiving 15% of the vote.[78] Whittle became the first the openly LGBT candidate selected by any party as a mayor of London candidate.[79] Whittle confirmed his support the UK's exit from the European Union, stating that this would not damage London's financial industries.[74] He pledged to work to ensure that workers can afford to live in London, and opposes further expansion of Heathrow Airport.[74]

• David Furness stood for the British National Party. At the time of the election he was the party's organiser in west London and had stood in the 2011 Feltham and Heston by-election.[80] The British National Party were de-registered by the Electoral Commission on 8 January 2016 for failing to pay the required registration fee to the Electoral Commission, putting Furness' candidacy at risk.[81] However, the BNP re-registered in February 2016[82] allowing Furness to stand.[24]
• George Galloway announced that he would stand for mayor of London as Respect's candidate, shortly after losing his seat in Bradford West in the 2015 General Election. After he was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003, Galloway joined Respect in early 2004 before serving as an MP in Bethnal Green and Bow and then Bradford West.[83] There were reports of financial difficulties for Respect, and that Galloway might be seeking to return to the Labour Party,[84] but he was nominated by and ran under the label of "Respect (George Galloway)".[24]
• Paul Golding, leader of Britain First and former British National Party councillor, was announced via Facebook as their intended candidate.[85] The announcement (which was later removed) said that Britain First "will not rest until every traitor is punished for their crimes against our country. And by punished, I mean good old-fashioned British justice at the end of a rope!" [86] Britain First had several of their proposed running slogans banned by the Electoral Commission for being offensive.[87] Golding, who was convicted of harassment in 2015,[88] was on police bail during the election campaign after being arrested for wearing a military uniform with political objective.[89]
• Lee Harris stood for the Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol Party.[90]
• Ankit Love stood for the One Love Party.[24] Love claimed to be Emperor of Jammu and Kashmir and called on British military personnel to "oust the failed regime and replace the Prime Minister with him as the senior Minister of the Crown, so he can dictate the needed legislation".[91]
• Sophie Walker, a journalist,[92] stood for the Women's Equality Party, of which she was the leader at the time of the election.[93][94]
• Prince (John) Zylinski, Polish aristocrat and anti-UKIP campaigner[95][96] was the only independent candidate running.[24]

Several independents or candidates from minor parties announced an intention to stand but did not appear on the final list of nominees. The candidate with the highest profile was Winston McKenzie, who was selected as a candidate by the English Democrats. He had run as an independent in 2008 and had sought the UKIP nomination for 2016.[97] In January 2016, McKenzie appeared on the reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother described as the English Democrats candidate,[98] but was not nominated for the election. McKenzie submitted nomination forms, but they were rejected for being incomplete and containing "duplicate signatures".[23] On 8 April 2016 it was confirmed that McKenzie would be standing in a borough council by-election in Croydon to be held on the same day as the mayoral election.[99]

Other candidates who were reported to be intending to stand but did not later appear on the nomination list include Jonathan Silberman for the Communist League,[100] and independent candidate Rosalind Readhead.[24][101] Lindsey Garrett was announced for Something New,[102] but later withdrew.[103]

Early campaigning began with the process of major parties selecting candidates, after the 2015 General Election. The first party candidate to be announced was Lindsey Garrett of the Something New party on 18 May,[102] though she later decided not to stand.[124] The major parties all declared candidates in September.[51] Early issues that were highlighted by multiple candidates included:[125]

• Rising costs of house buying and renting,[126] alongside a shortage in social housing.[127] Candidates such as Berry and Pidgeon promised a rent cap,[128] while both Goldsmith and Khan argued for increased home building.[45][129] Caroline Pidgeon spoke out in favour of increased use of rent-to-buy loans.[130]
• Public transport costs and the ongoing development of London's transport infrastructure, including Crossrail.[131] Goldsmith made infrastructure a major part of his campaign, emphasising increased rail capacity.[129] Khan promised to freeze bus and rail fares.[132]
• Bus transport, where Goldsmith promised to allow electric cars into bus lanes,[133] and said that busses needed to be electrified and more efficient.[129] Khan promised a new bus ticket that would be valid for an hour.[134]
• Cycling was supported by both Berry and Pidgeon.[135] Goldsmith said he would judge Cycle Superhighways by their effect.[136] Khan said he would continue to invest in them.[137]
• Expansion of London's airports: Khan, Goldsmith, Pidgeon and Berry were all signatories to a letter vowing to use all possible powers to try and stop of expansion at Heathrow,[138] though Khan argued instead for the expansion of Gatwick Airport.[139] Whittle also came out against Heathrow's expansion [74]
• Crime and police reform.[127] Both Khan and Goldsmith highlighted rising hate crimes,[140] with Goldsmith and Pidgeon both also pledging to tackle violent and knife crime.[127][141] Berry pledged to increase resources into London's Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.[142]
• Environment.[143] Several of the candidates, including Berry[52] and Goldsmith,[144] are long-standing environmental campaigners. Berry put sustainability at the centre of her campaign,[59] while Goldsmith linked environmentalism more closely to economic growth,[144] and Khan pledged a range of green policies, including a programme to plant over 2 million trees in London while mayor.[145]

Transport costs on London's Underground system (pictured) were a key early issue in the campaign

The final polls from before the announcement of candidates gave Labour a four-point lead over the Conservative Party.[146] From early in the campaign, the contest was presumed to be between the Labour and Conservative candidates, with both expected to comfortably reach the second round of voting.[147] While Goldsmith – who was the last of the main candidates to be announced, on 3 October 2015 – was widely anticipated to be the Conservative candidate,[148] Khan's selection was more of a surprise.[149]

The first months of the campaign were dominated by the heightened terrorist threat in London, following a series of successful and planned attacks by Islamic State in 2015, particularly the November 2015 Paris attacks and a lone knife attack at Leytonstone tube station in on 6 December.[150] Khan's comments on how British Muslims might respond to the Paris attacks raised positive comments from both supporters and opponents.[151][152] A subsequent leaflet distributed by Goldmsith's campaign team described Khan as "divisive and radical", comments that Labour claimed were an attempt to associate Khan with radical Islam.[153][154] The Conservative Party rejected the accusation, claiming that Khan was "playing the race card".[155]

Elsewhere in the campaign, transport remained a major issue. David Cameron's deferral in December 2015 of a decision on plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport until after the election was interpreted as an attempt to avoid a clash with Goldsmith, his party's candidate, on the issue.[156] Caroline Pidgeon and Siân Berry both promised changes to the fares system to reduce commuter costs on the Tube,[157] while Khan and incumbent Conservative mayor Boris Johnson clashed over planned Tube strikes.[158] An early January 2016 poll gave Khan a 10-point lead over Goldsmith,[159] with bookmakers and pundits all favouring a Khan victory, though most agreed that the race was still open.[160] Towards the end of January, provisional English Democrats candidate Winston McKenzie appeared on reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother, quickly being voted off and causing over 400 complaints to Ofcom following his negative comments about homosexuality.[98]

In February, five candidates – Pidgeon, Whittle, Khan, Berry and Goldsmith – appeared in a debate on issues surrounding technology and science at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.[108] Key topics to emerge included the conflict between traditional London Black Cabs and Uber, and the role of the EU in shaping the British technological industry.[108] A few days later, a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU was announced for 23 June, the campaigning for which intersected with the mayoral election.[161] Alongside Whittle, whose UKIP party was founded with the aim of securing the UK's departure from the EU, both Goldsmith and outgoing mayor Boris Johnson announced their intention to campaign to leave the EU, in defiance of their party leader, Prime Minister David Cameron.[162][163] By contrast, Khan, Pidgeon and Berry all declared their support for remaining in the EU.[164][165] George Eaton of the New Statesman noted that research from the British Election Survey had found that voters in London (a majority-minority city), typically showed more support for the EU than voters in the UK as a whole.[163]

In a letter intended for London's Hindu and Sikh populations, Goldsmith accused Khan, a Muslim, of wanting a "wealth tax on family jewellery."[166][167] The letters formed part of what Khan's campaign said was a racist campaigning strategy from Goldsmith,[168][169] with Goldsmith claiming that Khan was a dangerous and "deeply partisan politician".[168]

March polls for YouGov and Comres showed Khan retaining his lead over Goldsmith, though by a reduced 3 percentage points in the Comres poll and an increased 7 points in the YouGov poll.[170][171] The Comres poll also showed Khan leading in a run-off[170] while neither poll gave any other candidates more than 6% of the first round votes. Both polls suggested that the race remained close, with the number of undecided voters comfortably larger than Khan's lead over Goldsmith.[168] Meanwhile, Londonist criticised both Goldsmith and Khan for "sending substitutes" instead of appearing at hustings events across London.[167] The official campaign began on 21 March, when nominations formally opened.[172] The confirmed list of candidates was released on 1 April, revealing that 12 people in total had secured the support and financing required for a nomination.[24]

Khan's manifesto launch came early in the official campaign period, on 9 March. Focusing on housing, Khan promised for database of landlords who had been prosecuted for housing-related offences, as well as the creation of a mayor-controlled non-for-profit letting agency.[173] He pledged a freeze on rail fares [173] and a series of measures to tackle gender inequality, focusing on domestic and sexual violence, the gender wage gap and the cost of childcare.[174] In early April, Berry and Pidgeon both released their manifestos, with both focused on housing.[175][176] Goldsmith's manifesto was one of the last to be released, on 12 April.[177] He focused on the economy, promising that his house and infrastructure building policies would help create 500,000 jobs.[177] He also promised a freeze on mayoral council tax and increased police numbers.[177] Green issues were also a core part of his agenda,[178] with new traffic regulations to encourage cleaner vehicles and the creation of new pocket parks.[177]

Through April, the personal battle between Goldsmith and Khan continued to dominate the campaign, with Goldsmith and his campaign team repeatedly accused by Labour of racist or Islamophobic campaigning,[179][180] an accusation that they strongly denied.[181] Other candidates struggled to gain publicity and none of the major candidates were able to differentiate themselves significantly on policy.[115] On 22 April, a YouGov poll saw Khan stretch his lead over Goldsmith to 11 points in the first round, with Whittle, Berry and Pidgeon remaining very close to each other but some 25 points further behind Goldsmith, and Khan leading Goldsmith with 60% to 40% in the final round of voting.[182] On 29 April, comments by Labour MP Naz Shah and former Labour mayor of London Ken Livingstone led to both being accused of anti-semitism. Livingstone had been a close ally of Khan, who quickly distanced himself from the comments before Livingstone was suspended from the Labour Party.[183] A poll released on the same day showed Khan leading Goldsmith by 20 points in the second round of voting, with no other candidates on more than 5% in the first round.[184] In the final week of the campaign, minor candidate Prince Zylinski endorsed Goldsmith.[185]

Election day, 5 May 2016, was affected by confusion in the London Borough of Barnet, as an undetermined number of the borough's 236,196 voters were turned away from polling stations owing to an error with the electoral lists.[186] The first registers delivered to the polling station contained only those voters who registered since January 2016. Polls opened at 8 am and the problem was not rectified until 10:30 am.[186] The count began on Friday 6 May taking place at three locations across the capital.[187] The declaration, made at City Hall[187] was delayed following "discrepancies" with the initial count of votes, in which hundreds of votes were reportedly misallocated.[5] As the result was announced early on 7 May, outgoing mayor Boris Johnson remained in position for a further day, handing over to Khan on 8 May.[188]

These polls were conducted before candidate details were finalised. Some show hypothetical match-ups between Zac Goldsmith and prospective Labour candidates, and others show the results of a generic question about which party a voter would support in the Mayoral election.