Sadiq Khan admits he had 'no plan B' if he'd lost mayoral election

Sadiq Khan has claimed he had “no plan B” for if he had lost last week’s mayoral election, as he said his only focus was on winning a third term at City Hall.

The mayor told the Standard he had made no preparations for the possibility of his Tory opponent, Susan Hall, unseating him as mayor - which the polls had suggested was a distant prospect.

Mr Khan was re-elected with 43.8 per cent of the vote, while Ms Hall came second with 32.7 per cent.

But asked what plans he had made in case the opposite happened, the Labour mayor said: “There was no Plan B.

“My focus was on trying to persuade as many Londoners as I could to lend me their vote, and the entire team was focused on working our socks off until 10pm on May 2. The fruits of that hard work is shown by the results.”

Asked what message he had for the one in three voters who backed Ms Hall, he said: “The margin of victory [in raw votes] this time was the biggest it’s ever been. It was the first time there’s been a mayor elected for a third term.

“But there are still lots of Londoners who didn’t vote for me, and my message to them is, I’m a mayor for all Londoners.

“However you voted, I’m your mayor. I’ll try really hard to earn your trust and confidence. One of the things I will try to do is heal our city, to bring our city together.

“I’m hoping those Londoners who didn’t vote for me this time, I can work hard over the next period to earn their trust, because we’re a city that understands our strengths, but also recognises there are imperfections, and we’ve got to address those.”

Despite failing in her mayoral bid, Ms Hall was re-elected as a member of the London Assembly, and was on Friday selected by her colleagues to become chair of the police and crime committee. The role will allow her to lead the Assembly’s scrutiny of the Met Police and the mayor’s strategies in tackling crime.

Mr Khan will also face regular questions at City Hall over the next four years from his Green Party mayoral opponent, Zoe Garbett - who was unexpectedly sworn in as an assembly member this week when her colleague Sian Berry suddenly resigned on the first working day after the election.

Ms Garbett - a private renter who says the capital is “beyond” a housing crisis - was made deputy chair of the housing committee.