Khan v Cunningham: Shock poll shows Reform in pole position to challenge Labour in London mayor race

Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham could beat her Tory rival to get to the run-off against Labour in the next London mayoral race, according to a new poll.

Reform is in second place on 20%, followed by the Conservatives on 18%, the Green Party 14% and Liberal Democrats 10%.

Nigel Farage and Laila Cunningham

Getty Images

Under the voting system for Mayor of London, such a result would see Ms Cunningham getting to the run-off against Sir Sadiq Khan, or whoever is the Labour contender.

The second choice votes of Londoners for the candidates who did not make the final two are then allocated to the last two candidates under the supplementary vote system.

No mayoral candidates were explicitly named in the poll.

But Dr Eoghan Kelly, a Postdoctoral Researcher in British Politics at Queen Mary University of London, said “On these numbers we would expect Labour to win quite comfortably on second preferences.”

Dr Kelly added:“These results demonstrate that a lot could change before the next mayoral election as we await a final decision by Sadiq Khan on whether he will be the Labour candidate.

“Khan is significantly outperforming his own party's national leadership so it cannot be guaranteed that a different Labour candidate would have such a comfortable lead.”

The survey showed 36% of voters in London were satisfied with Sir Sadiq’s performance, with 40% dissatisfied, a net of –4%.

Satisfaction with the national Government was 28%, with 48% dissatisfied, a net of –20%.

Dr Kelly stressed: “This poll indicated that Labour has a long way to go to win back trust at the national level.”

Former London Assembly member Sir James Cleverly

PA Wire

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, though, has launched a widespread search to find the best candidate.

* Savanta interviewed 1,036 Londoners aged 18+ online between 10th-17th August 2026. Data are weighted.