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<\/p>\nThe battle to be mayor of London looks to be on a knife edge in the wake of Sadiq Khan’s controversial ULEZ expansion.<\/p>\n
Tory hopeful Susan Hall is just three points behind the Labour incumbent, according to a poll by JL Partners.<\/p>\n
The 35 per cent to 32 per cent gap is a boost for Ms Hall following fears that the contest in the capital could be a rout.<\/p>\n
It suggests that anger at widening the \u00a312.50-a-day charge to the whole of London – credited for the Conservatives unexpectedly hanging on in the Uxbridge & South Ruislip by-election – is lingering.<\/p>\n
The London Mayor contest is being conducted under a first-past-the-post electoral system – the same used for Westminster – for the first time after the government passed new laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Tory hopeful Susan Hall is just three points behind the Labour incumbent, according to a poll by JL Partners<\/p>\n
The contest will take place in May next year, likely to be a few months before the general election.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Surveys before the full slate of candidates were chose had indicated that Mr Khan had a significant lead over other parties.<\/p>\n
But Redfield & Wilton Strategies research earlier this month suggested that Mr Khan was on track for the narrowest of victories, with 33 per cent support to 32 per cent for Ms Hall.<\/p>\n
It also highlighted the peril for Mr Khan if Jeremy Corbyn made good on hints he could join the race.<\/p>\n
In that instance the current mayor was estimated to lose by 30 per cent to 25 per cent, with the hard-left MP getting 15 per cent.<\/p>\n
The JL Partners poll for the Sun found that Mr Khan was on 35 per cent, Ms Hall 32 per cent, while Reform candidate Howard Cox was on 8 per cent. The Greens and Lib Dems were both on 5 per cent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ms Hall risked a clash with the government over HS2 in an LBC phone-in this morning, saying she would ‘obviously prefer’ that the line went ahead in full.<\/p>\n
She was also given a rough ride over her previous social media posts.<\/p>\n
Ms Hall insisted she ‘can’t remember’ supporting a post by Katie Hopkins which described Mr Khan as ‘our nipple height mayor of Londonistan’.<\/p>\n
She brushed off liking a tweet with a picture of Enoch Powell by saying: ‘If you’re a serial tweeter, you tend to go through liking all sorts of things.<\/p>\n
‘If anybody is offended, then obviously I would apologise.’<\/p>\n
Challenged over a tweet in which she called Gemma Collins a ‘stupid fat blonde’, Ms Hall said: ‘People will throw these tweets at me and I accept it and if I offended anybody, I apologise.’<\/p>\n
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Sadiq Khan could lose the London Mayor battle if Jeremy Corbyn runs as an independent, according to a shock poll earlier this month<\/p>\n
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Mr Corbyn has repeatedly refused to rule out a bid for the mayoralty after he was blocked by the Labour leadership from standing as the party’s candidate in his Islington North constituency<\/p>\n
Mr Corbyn has repeatedly refused to rule out a bid for the mayoralty after he was blocked by the Labour leadership from standing as the party’s candidate in his Islington North constituency.<\/p>\n
Mr Khan has insisted he is relaxed about whom he faces, saying he is not surprised that people want to get the ‘best job in the world’.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 74-year-old is still regarded as more likely to focus on defending that seat as an independent rather than turning his sights to City Hall.<\/p>\n
The Tories declared Ms Hall would be their contender in July after a chaotic selection process that saw a minister left off the shortlist.<\/p>\n
Many had feared that Ms Hall did not have the profile or charisma to stop Mr Khan winning a third term.\u00a0<\/p>\n