Sadiq Khan would win a third term as Mayor of London even if Jeremy Corbyn stands as an independent, according to a new poll.
The survey of Londoners by Find Out Now put Mr Khan on 39 per cent, Tory Susan Hall 24 per cent, Mr Corbyn 14 per cent, Liberal Democrat Rob Blackie seven per cent, Green candidate Zoe Garbett six per cent and Howard Cox of Reform UK on five per cent.
When people who backed ex-Labour leader Corbyn were asked who they would choose if he did not stand, Mr Khan went up to 46 per cent, Ms Hall 26 per cent, Mr Blackie and Ms Garbett both nine per cent and Mr Cox six per cent.
Chris Holbrook, chief executive of Find Out Now, said: “Even with Jeremy Corbyn taking 14 per cent of the vote, it appears Labour still have a healthy lead over Conservatives’ Susan Hall.
“With only six months until polling day, it seems that Khan is set for a third term as Mayor.”
The findings come just days after The Standard reported another poll, by YouGov, which had Mr Khan on 50 per cent and Ms Hall 25 per cent.
The two polls used different methodology to come to their results.
But they both were weighted or filtered back to the 2019 General Election result, rather than the 2021 London mayoral contest.
There are arguments for using either electoral reference point and using the General Election one could give Mr Khan a higher score than the mayoral poll when the vote was tighter.
But experts doubt the difference would close the large gap between the current mayor and Tory challenger.
The mayoralty will also be decided using first-past-the-post and it is not clear how supporters of the smaller parties will vote given the change from the supplementary vote system.
Experts believe Green supporters, and possibly to a lesser extent Lib-Dem backers, are more likely to favour Mr Khan.
