Sadiq Khan has warned the “omnishambles” of Peter Mandelson’s appointment has left Labour in danger of “being stonked” across London in the May elections.
In a stark warning to Sir Keir Starmer, the London mayor admitted Labour are having a tough time in the capital with Westminster scandal threatening the party’s foothold in London’s councils.
Describing the Mandelson crisis as “an omnishambles from start to finish”, Sir Sadiq said he was “really frustrated” that the scandal was making it harder to engage voters in the party’s local achievements.
“I’d rather be talking about that than be on the defensive talking about the omnishambles of the Mandelson saga,” he told the Financial Times.
“I’m afraid what will happen is that rather than saying to voters ‘listen, this is the difference that a Labour council, working with a Labour mayor and a Labour government, can make’, people may decide to punish the imperfections of the government.”
“We’re in danger of being stonked on May 7,” he said, adding the campaigning had been “some of the most difficult I can remember” in over 40 years.
The Labour Party is on course for its worst result in London in more than four decades at the upcoming local elections, with both the Greens and Reform set to eat into its vote.
A new MRP poll of the 32 London boroughs, conducted by YouGov for Sky News and Politico, shows Labour is on course to win the highest vote share in 15 councils – six fewer than in 2022.
The last time Labour won fewer than 15 London councils was in 1982, 44 years ago, when they won just 12.
The Green Party is expected to take the highest vote share across four councils, including Lewisham and Lambeth, while Reform is expected to take the highest share in three. Neither party has ever previously topped the poll on any council in London.
Labour sources told The Independent they are expecting a “bloodbath” in Islington, while Green Party sources said they were expecting to take Hackney.
Sir Sadiq warned the party over its strategy in chasing Reform voters, as the Green Party looks set to surge in London.
“I’m slightly nervous with this ‘hero voter’ strategy, this understandable obsession to chase the Reform voter,” he said. “This could lead to progressive voters feeling, wrongly, the Labour Party isn’t for them.”
However, the Labour mayor insisted that Sir Keir should not resign over the Mandelson crisis, pointing to his record on the world stage
Asked if someone else should lead the party, Khan said: “No. What is the biggest decision I think the PM has had to make in the last six months? It was whether to be dragged into this war in Iran.”
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