A third Khan term must rectify failings

IN THE run-up to the 2015 general election, former prime minister Lord Cameron famously compared third terms to a popular advertising slogan for Shredded Wheat, suggesting that “two are wonderful but three might just be too many”. Sadiq Khan, the two-time Mayor of London, appears to have no such concerns about his appetite for a further four years in office.

The Mayor is telling anyone who will listen that tomorrow’s election is a two-horse race between himself and his Tory rival, Susan Hall. And he is right. The decision by the Government to switch the electoral system to firstpast-the-post dictates that voters realistically have only one of two levers to pull: Labour or Conservative. This theoretically increases the chances of an upset.

But the Conservatives have failed to capitalise on such an opening. The party’s selection process for its candidate descended into chaos last year. Respected alternatives, not least former minister for London Paul Scully, were eschewed in favour of the relatively unknown Hall. Her campaign has proved to be uneven at best, not aided by a lack of support from a national party which all too often affords the impression of having given up on the capital.

Hall has focused much of her energies on crime, Ulez and simply not being Khan. This is understandable, but in a Labour dominated city amid a heavily anti-Tory political environment, it does not appear close to being enough to win over the floating voters any Conservative candidate must secure to be competitive in the capital.