London, UK

Sadiq Khan was on Saturday (May 4) was re-elected as London's mayor as he secured his third consecutive term defeating Conservative challenger Susan Hall.

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Khan's win further helped solidify the Labour Party's overwhelming advantage over the ruling Conservatives in the local elections ahead of the UK's general elections later this year.

His victory was much anticipated despite public outrage over frequent knife attacks in the British capital and the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), under which the drivers of older, relatively more polluting vehicles are charged a daily fee.

"It's been a difficult few months, we faced a campaign of non-stop negativity," Khan said in a speech after the results showed he had won 43.8% of the vote against 33% for the Conservatives' candidate, Susan Hall.

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"For the last eight years, London has been swimming against the tide of a Tory (Conservative) government and now with a Labour Party that's ready to govern again under Keir Starmer, it's time for Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice."

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Khan, who took over as the British capital's first Muslim mayor in the year 2016, has promised to increase the number of social housing units and has also pledged to work with the Labour government to strengthen police capacity.

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One of the campaign promises that Khan's challenger Hall made was to scrap ULEZ. However, the Trump admirer made several gaffes that grabbed the public's attention. She was also accused of racism after the 69-year-old was found engaging with far-right content on social media.

ULEZ, which was a centrepiece of the Conservative campaign, helped the party win a by-election to a parliamentary seat in London in the year 2023. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also scaled back some of UK's climate goals stating that such targets should not put excessive burden on people.

(With inputs from agencies)