Thursday, 19th January 2012
KEN LIVINGSTONE is now ahead of rival Boris Johnson in the race to win the London Mayoral election in May, according to the latest opinion poll from YouGov.
The scores in the new poll have Livingstone at 46% of first preference votes against 44 for Johnson, with third-placed Brian Paddick of the Liberal Democrat way back on 7%.
Just a few months ago, Tory incumbent Johnson enjoyed an eight percentage-point lead, but the Labour man's promise to cut transport fares appears to have turned things around.
"It looks as if [Livingstone's] promise to cut fares on buses and the Tube has made an impact," said YouGov pollster Peter Kellner.
Kellner also believes that old Etonian Johnson's reputation as being out of touch with ordinary people has damaged his chances of victory. Johnson was criticised for backing bankers during the credit crunch and he has since earned the title of 'Mayor of the 1%'.
YouGov reports that only 13% of those asked thought the current Mayor was in touch with the concerns of ordinary voters.
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