Half of Londoners think Sadiq Khan is “doing badly” as Mayor of London, according to a new poll.
A survey by YouGov found that 50 per cent of Londoners were not happy with the Mayor’s performance – almost seven years after he was first elected.
It represents a three point drop from the last poll in January 2022 and comes amid a cost of living crisis that has seen approval ratings drop for many politicians.
A third of those surveyed (32 per cent) thought Mr Khan was doing “very badly”.
Younger Londoners were found to be mo--re supportive of Mr Khan, with four in ten (40 per cent) of those aged between 18 and 24 saying he was “doing well” compared with 37 per cent who felt he was “doing badly”.
But the poll found that eight in 10 (81 per cent) Londoners aged above 65 thought Mr Khan was “doing badly”. Two-thirds (64 per cent) felt he was doing “very badly”.
Nearly two-thirds of Londoners (65 per cent) felt Mr Khan was handling the issue of housing badly, while six in ten (62 per cent) did not support his handling of crime.
Other political leaders also proved unpopular in the capital, with over half (51 per cent) of Londoners saying they believed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was doing “badly”. Two in five (44 per cent) said the same of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
And a third (33 per cent) of Londoners felt Mark Rowley is doing “badly” as Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
A Labour source said: “The Tories have delivered over a decade of austerity and continue to hold London back.
“But despite this Sadiq 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.”
Separately, a former Downing Street adviser to Boris Johnson has emerged as the Conservative front runner for next year’s London mayoral election.
Energy secretary Grant Shapps and Northern Ireland Office minister Steve Baker, along with former home secretary Priti Patel, announced on Monday they were endorsing Samuel Kasumu to become the Tory candidate to challenge Mr Khan in May.
Mr Kasumu served as special adviser to then-prime minister Mr Johnson, where he held the civil society and communities brief.
YouGov polled 1,107 adults in London between April 14 and 25.
