Half of Londoners think Sadiq Khan is doing ‘badly’ as Mayor, a major poll revealed today – with the biggest concerns over his record on crime, housing and transport.
Some 50 per cent of respondents to the YouGov survey gave the response, a figure which also includes a third (32 per cent) who think he is doing ‘very badly’.
Another third (35 per cent) of people living in London think the Labour Mayor is doing ‘well’, which is a three point drop from the last poll in January 2022.
He is particularly unpopular with those aged 65 or over, where 81 per cent think he is doing ‘badly’, including two thirds (64 per cent) who think he is doing ‘very badly’.
But the younger generation are more favourable of him, with 40 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 saying he is doing ‘well’ compared to 37 per cent saying he is doing ‘badly’. This is the only age group where more think he is doing ‘well’ than ‘badly’.
It comes as Mr Khan continues to battle a legal challenge and mounting fury over his plans to expand the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover the whole of Greater London despite warnings it will hit the poorest and self-employed the worst.
Half of Londoners think Sadiq Khan is doing ‘badly’ as Mayor, a major poll revealed today
At least 200,000 older, more polluting vehicles will be face a £12.50 daily charge by the planned expansion on August 29. It will add at least £250 to the monthly cost of commuting for workers who need to drive, such as care workers or van drivers.
He is also battling the fallout from a report last month which found the Metropolitan Police is institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic, with Mr Khan accepting ‘full responsibility’ for the findings as the boss of the police force.
And Mr Khan has also faced fury over his handling of economic policy, with political rivals saying his cost of living fund was poorly targeted and the Ulez expansion will worsen the crisis.
In addition Mr Khan, who is also chairman of Transport for London, has backed the expansion of controversial Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the capital and wants to see more created.
Meanwhile a former Downing Street adviser to Boris Johnson emerged this week as the Conservative frontrunner for next year’s London mayoral election.
Samuel Kasumu earned the backing of three party heavyweights on Monday for him to become the Tory candidate to challenge Sadiq Khan on May 2, 2024.
On the subject of housing, two thirds of Londoners (65 per cent) said he is doing ‘badly’ as handling the issue – including a third (35 per cent) who think he is handling it ‘very badly’.
Eight in ten (78 per cent) Londoners aged 65 or over think he is handling the issue ‘badly’, with almost half (47 per cent) saying he is handling this issue ‘very badly’.
Just three in ten (28 per cent) Londoners aged 18-24 think he is handling the issue ‘well’, while almost half (47 per cent) think he is handling the issue ‘badly’.
Samuel Kasumu is the frontrunner to become the Tory candidate to challenge Sadiq Khan
Unsurprisingly, Conservative voters in 2019 are more likely to hold the view that he is handling the issue ‘badly’, with eight in ten (81 per cent) saying so compared to six in ten (58 per cent) Labour voters that year.
Similar results were given when Londoners were asked how Mr Khan is handling the issue of crime, where six in ten (62 per cent) saying he is handling this issue ‘badly’, including a third (33 per cent) who said he is handling it ‘very badly’.
Eight in ten (77 per cent) Londoners aged 65 or over think he is handling crime ‘badly’, with over half (54 per cent) saying he is handling this issue ‘very badly’.
Just three in ten (30 per cent) Londoners aged 18 to 24 think he is handling crime ‘well’, while nearly half (48 per cent) think he is handling the issue ‘badly’.
Tory voters in 2019 are more likely to hold the view that he is handling the issue ‘badly’, with eight in ten (84 per cent) saying so compared to half (54 per cent) of Labour voters that year.
On transport, over half (55 per cent) think he is doing ‘badly’ at handling the issue of transport, including three in ten (30 per cent) who think he is handling it ‘very badly’.
Three quarters (74 per cent) of those aged 65 or over think he is handling transport ‘badly’, with over half (52 per cent) saying he is handling this issue ‘very badly’.
Almost half (46 per cent) of Londoners aged 18 to 24 think he is handling transport ‘well’, while four in ten (42 per cent) think he is handling the issue ‘badly’.
The Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) currently covers the area inside the North and South Circular roads, but the Mayor intends to expand it across all of Greater London on August 29
This is the only issue where more people in the younger age bracket think he is handling it ‘well’ than ‘badly’.
Conservative voters in 2019 are more likely to believe that he is handling the issue ‘badly’, with eight in ten (80 per cent) saying so compared to four in ten (44 per cent) 2019 Labour voters.
Across the three issues polled, no more than one in five (37 per cent) people think he is handling a single issue ‘well’, which is the case for transport.
The polling also found that half of Londoners (51 per cent) think Rishi Sunak is doing ‘badly’ as Prime Minister, with just a third (32 per cent) saying he is doing ‘well’. One in five (22 per cent) Londoners think he is doing ‘very badly’.
Two in five (44 per cent) Londoners think Keir Starmer is doing ‘badly’ as leader of the Labour Party, with just a third (34 per cent) saying he is doing ‘well’. One in five (19 per cent) Londoners think he is doing ‘very badly’.
A third (33 per cent) of Londoners think Mark Rowley is doing ‘badly’ as Metropolitan Police Commissioner, with one in five (23 per cent) saying he is doing ‘well’.
A Labour source told City AM: ‘The Tories have delivered over a decade of austerity and continue to hold London back.
‘But despite this Sadiq Khan is getting on with building a better London for everyone – reducing violent crime, cleaning up the air, delivering a record number of council homes and providing free school meals for all London children from September.’
It comes after Mr Kasumu has emerged as the Conservative front runner for the next mayoral election.
A ‘Stop the Ulez expansion’ protest at Trafalgar Square in London earlier this month on April 15
Energy secretary Grant Shapps and Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker, along with former home secretary Priti Patel, announced on Monday they were endorsing him.
Mr Kasumu served as special adviser to then-prime minister Mr Johnson, where he held the civil society and communities brief.
His work in Downing Street also included leading on the cross-government vaccine deployment confidence programme, working alongside then-vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi.
Mr Shapps said Mr Kasumu has London ‘in his heart’, adding: ‘I’ve worked with Samuel Kasumu for over five years in my Welwyn Hatfield constituency where he has been a hardworking councillor.
‘He has served distinctively both as a councillor and more recently as cabinet member for climate change and the environment.
‘If Samuel is selected as the Conservative mayoral candidate he will be severely missed in Welwyn Hatfield, but it has always been clear that London is in his heart.
‘The capital is both where he was born and where he grew up. I wish him all the best and look forward to supporting him in his next phase.’
Ms Patel described Mr Kasumu as ‘authentic’ and ‘hardworking’, and said he has a ‘deep commitment to improve the lives of London’s citizens and bringing communities from across our great City together’.
Mr Kasumu said: ‘I am delighted to have these endorsements. Very soon London Conservatives will have the opportunity to select the candidate they feel is best suited to pull off one of the greatest upsets in modern political history.
‘I believe that person is me, and I look forward to making the case in the coming weeks and months.’
