Tory hopes of an astonishing victory in the London mayoral election rose today with Shaun Bailey keeping track of Sadiq Khan in early vote counting.
Mr Bailey, who polled a distant second to the Labour incumbent before Thursday s election, was just 2 per cent behind this evening, with the two on 39 and 37 per cent respectively.
He was given a further boon by winning the most votes in the Ealing and Hillingdon constituency.
The Conservative candidate scored 79,863 first preference votes, ahead of his Labour rival, Sadiq Khan, who scored 74,854 votes. The Green Party s Sian Berry was third, with 13,041 votes.
The final results are not due to drop until Saturday night at the earliest, meaning it could be an anxious weekend for Labour.
It’s election day with a difference as polling stations operate under coronavirus restrictions across Great Britain.
On what has been dubbed Super Thursday, polling stations opened at 7am in the largest test of political opinion outside a general election, with the future of the Labour Party and the state of the Union among the issues at play.
But there were still many familiar sights, with party leaders posing for pictures after they voted and plenty of #dogsatpollingstations photos to brighten up social media.
Signs warned voters to wear masks – and that selfies were not permitted (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Voters were urged to use hand sanitiser – and to take their own pen or pencil to mark the ballot (Andrew Matthews/PA)
London s mayoral candidates have been out casting their votes at polling stations this morning, in an election Sadiq Khan is being tipped to comfortably win.
The Labour candidate is widely expected to retain the keys to City Hall, though his lead over Conservative rival Shaun Bailey has shrunk in recent days amid fears about the capital s crime crisis.
Mr Khan, along with wife Saadiya and their dog Luna, were spotted bright and early at their polling station at St Albans Church in south London, ready to put their crosses in the box.
His main rival, Tory Mr Bailey, was also out with wife Ellie at Drapers Pyrgo Priory School in Romford, as he hopes to cause an upset.
Voters were casting their ballots as polling stations were operating under coronavirus restrictions across Great Britain.
Polling stations opened at 7am on Thursday for local council elections across England, as well as the London mayoral election, and the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election.
Here are the most unusual sights as the polls opened.
Snowy conditions at a Scottish Parliamentary election polling station in the village of Farr, near Inverness (Paul Campbell/PA)
In Oxford, voter Toby Porter cast his ballot in a car boot after the church warden opening his polling station “overslept apparently”.
According to Oxford City Council, the building – Oxford Centre for Mission Studies – was open within 15 minutes.