Disaster for Sadiq Khan as Tories trounce Labour in key London by-election (2024)

Sadiq Khan is "worried" after the Tories trounced Labour in a key council seat (Image: Getty)

Sadiq Khan is 'really worried' as the Tories trounce Labour in a key local election race.

The Conservatives have gained a council seat from Labour in London’s Wandsworth Borough Council, beating Labour by just under 500 votes in a key by-election.

Nick Austin is now the councillor for West Putney ward, making him one of 23 Tory councillors on the borough council. The Conservatives won 2,839 votes, Labour 2,350, the Lib Dems 635 and Green 438. There was a 5.5 percent swing from Labour to the Tories, with the Conservative share of the votes up 10 percent since 2021.

Home Secretary James Cleverly congratulated Austin on X (formerly Twitter) saying: “Big win for the Border Terrier owner, and Conservatives Councillor Nick Austin.”

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Fellow Conservative on Wandsworth Borough Council, Cllr for Thamesfield Ward James Jeffreys, also supported him, saying: “Huge congratulations to Nick who fought tirelessly to win this by-election.

“He’ll stand up for all those West Putney residents who have been ignored by the arrogant Wandsworth Labour administration. See you at the town hall Cllr Austin!”

A data scientist on social media said that “if repeated across Greater London, Sadiq Khan would lose to Susan Hall” and that “London will be a nail-biter”.

Londoners were invited to choose from one of 13 mayoral candidates including Labour’s Sadiq Khan and Conservative’s Susan Hall.

Adam Bienkove, the political editor at the Byline Times, claimed that a source close to Sadiq Khan says they're "really worried" about what is shaping up to be a "really close" result in the UK capital.

He added: "Worth saying the final YouGov poll gave him a 22 point lead over Susan Hall. Would be the worst polling fail in history if she manages to somehow win."

However, it's wirth noting that most political commentators predict a historic third-term victory for Khan but he may be hurt by the introduction of compulsory ID checks and a change to the voting system.

Previously, Khan has been able to accumulate more votes through a preference system of proportional representation, but voting is now done through first-past-the-post.

But across the country, the Tories are being defeated in local council elections. The BBC reports they have lost 232 council seats so far. Labour has gained 98 and the remaining 132 are spread between the Lib Dems, Independents and Greens.

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