Sadiq Khan wins Labour London mayor race

Sadiq Khan has decisively won the contest to become Labour`s candidate for the 2016 London mayoral election, reports BBC.

He won 48,152 votes, a 58.9% share, in the fifth round of voting after four other candidates had been eliminated.

Ex-minister Tessa Jowell, regarded as the frontrunner going into the contest, came second with 41.1% of the vote ahead of Diane Abbott in third place.

Mr Khan, the MP for Tooting, said he was "overwhelmed" and "deeply honoured" after the results were announced.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4`s The World at One, he said his top priority if elected would be tackle London`s "housing crisis", ensuring "genuinely affordable homes to rent and buy".

Mr Khan said he would also focus on affordable public transport and confirmed he had changed his mind on the issue of a third runway at Heathrow Airport over air pollution fears, and would be campaigning against expansion.

A total of 87,954 votes were cast in the ballot, in which the other candidates were former ministers David Lammy and Gareth Thomas, veteran Labour MP Ms Abbott and transport expert Christian Wolmar.

As he now seeks a mandate from five million Londoners, his personal and political journey will be scrutinised like never before.

Sadiq Khan has a back-story that may appeal to people who`ve never cast a vote in their lives.

He grew up on a south London housing estate, one of eight children, his father a bus driver. His children went to the same primary school as him. The Tooting constituency he represented since 2005 is where he`s lived all his life.

In the second decade of the 21st Century some might argue the fact he is Muslim should pass unremarked. But his accession to City Hall would, for many, be a powerful statement of the city`s diversity.

Some worry it may have the potential for division, but Sadiq Khan has so far proved himself an inclusive campaigning force.

Mr Thomas was first to be eliminated, with his second preferences reallocated, followed by Mr Wolmar, Mr Lammy and Ms Abbott.

Commentators reacted by saying Mr Khan`s victory, allied to the strong showing of Ms Abbott, increased the likelihood of Jeremy Corbyn being elected party leader on Saturday.

BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said he suspected even Mr Khan - who nominated Mr Corbyn to be Labour leader - would be surprised by scale of his victory, adding that the "winds of change are sweeping though Labour".

Mr Khan said he had been clear that while he had nominated Mr Corbyn, he would not be voting for him and had backed Andy Burnham in the leadership contest.

Mr Khan, who was shadow justice secretary under Ed Miliband`s leadership, said he was determined to "make a real difference to Londoners` lives" and that growing up on a council estate in South London, City Hall had seemed "a million miles away".

He later said he would stand down as MP for Tooting if he was elected Mayor.

The Conservatives have yet to choose their candidate, with Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith seen as the frontrunner.

The Conservatives have run City Hall for more than seven years, with Boris Johnson combining the role of London Mayor with that of MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since his election in May.