Susan who? Londoners find few alternatives to be mayor

Days from the election, many in the capital are still unable to identify the Conservative candidate, writes Barney Davis

Londoners go to the polls this week to decide if Sadiq Khan will win an unprecedented third term or if one of his 12 rivals will be given a chance to run the capital for the next four years.

Ahead of the vote on Thursday, a new opinion poll showed Mr Khan is decidedly ahead, albeit with the narrowest lead in the race so far. The Savanta survey for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London put the Labour mayor on 46 per cent, with his Tory challenger Susan Hall on 33 per cent. But Mr Khan’s lead has nearly halved since campaigning began several months ago, with home secretary James Cleverly last week accusing him of being “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to crime in the city.

With polling day fast approaching, The Independent went to speak to Londoners on the issues that affect them and asked what they thought of the candidates. Across the capital we found a voting public dissatisfied with the mayor on a range of issues, from the housing crisis that Mr Khan promised to fix when he was first elected eight years ago, to an epidemic of knife crime, Ulez expansion and regular transport strikes.

Despite the frustration, many struggled to consider – or even name – the alternative candidates. Tevfik Ulusoy, 42, from Lewisham, who is a watercolour dealer at Covent Garden’s historic Apple Market, took Mr Khan to task on transport issues.

“The strikes are killing us small businesses,” he said. “Everybody is struggling – train, tube strikes. The buses don’t help as they go slowly too, in support, and reduce services. The strikes have to stop. It seems like every month. Come on a Monday and you can see nobody is around. It is empty.