London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan secured a record third term on Saturday, as the party swept a host of mayoral races and local elections to trounce the ruling Conservatives months before an expected general election.

Khan, 53, beat Tory challenger Susan Hall by 11 points to scupper largely forlorn Tory hopes that they could prise the UK capital away from Labour for the first time since 2016.

The first Muslim mayor of a Western capital had been widely expected to win as the opposition party surges nationally and the Tories struggle to revive their fortunes.

In a dismal set of results, Rishi Sunak’s party finished a humiliating third in local council tallies after losing nearly 500 seats.

If replicated in a nationwide contest, the council tallies suggested that Labour would win 34% of the vote, with the Tories trailing by nine points, according to the BBC.

Meanwhile, there were some concerning signs for Labour, which lost control of one local authority and some councillors elsewhere, reportedly over its stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Joe Jackson, with AFP