Allister Heath, Editor of The Sunday Telegraph, references data from Theos’ Religious London report. 05/04/2023

London’s political winds are shifting and the consequences could be devastating for Sadiq Khan. There is now a real chance that the two–term, Ulez-loving, car–hating mayor could be booted out in next year’s elections, shattering the complacent assumptions of a Left–liberal establishment that sees the capital as its impregnable heartland. With the right Tory candidate, this could provide an extraordinary opportunity for Rishi Sunak to retake the city, drastically changing the national political narrative.

The first reason for optimism is the little–noticed but hugely significant abolition of the transferable voting system for the mayoral elections, a Blairite wheeze that favoured Labour; the second is the remarkable, spontaneous grassroots fury at Khan’s war on cars; and the third is the mayor’s staggering incompetence in all his core responsibilities, coupled with an incumbency penalty at a time when the mood is crying out for change. The Tories could easily blow it, of course – they picked a useless candidate last time, and misunderstand the nuances of modern London – but Conservative Campaign Headquarters must pour every resource it has into this race.

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