London mayor election: when are the results of the 2021 vote, who could win – and who are the candidates?

Voters across England, Scotland and Wales eagerly await the results of the largest test of political opinion outside a general election.

On what was dubbed “Super Thursday”, voters took part in contests which could shake up British politics and have profound implications for the future of the United Kingdom.

The shocking Hartlepool parliamentary by-election result, which saw Labour lose its historically safe seat to the Tories, was one of the first indications of whether Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer has been able to turn around his party’s fortunes in its former northern heartlands. It suggests he has not.

But over the coming days results elsewhere could have an even more dramatic influence on the state of the nation’s politics.

For Labour, success is expected in the form of Sadiq Khan winning a second term in London probably late on Saturday.

But just when will that announcement come?

Here is everything you need to know.

When will the Mayor of London vote be declared?

Results of the elections – which also include the Welsh Parliament, police and crime commissioners and English local authorities and mayors – are expected to continue filtering through until Monday as counting will take longer than normal due to coronavirus restrictions.

At the time of writing, it is expected that the result for the London mayoral election will be announced in the evening of Saturday 8 May.

The declaration is expected to take place following the results of the London Assembly constituencies, but could be delayed until Sunday morning if the count takes longer than expected.

Khan, who has been the Mayor of London since 2016, is widely expected to maintain Labour’s hold on City Hall in the election.

Who else was on the ballot paper?

Arguably Khan’s biggest obstacle is Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, though it is thought unlikely that even after a photo op with the Prime Minister he will be able to win the London mayoral election.

Elsewhere on the ballot was Sian Berry of the Green Party, Luisa Porritt representing the Liberal Democrats, UKIP’s Peter Gammons, Mandu Reid of the Women’s Equality Party, Kam Balayev from Renew, Count Binface standing for the Count Binface Party, and Brian Rose of London Real.

The final candidate on the paper – and one to make headlines in recent weeks – was actor Laurence Fox, standing on behalf of his own Reclaim party, which aims to “fight the culture wars”

Known for having appeared in numerous films, TV shows and stage productions, Fox has become better known for his controversial views on social media; he is currently being sued for libel after calling three people “paedophiles” on Twitter.

In a 2019 interview with The Times, Fox said that he had been “totally radicalised” by consumption of YouTube videos about “woke culture” and “political correctness”.

If victorious, the actor said he would lift the lockdown the day after the polls close on 6 May - despite the power to do so solely resting with the prime minister, and his manifesto also promises free Tube and bus travel for six months after lockdown, proposals that would likely bankrupt Transport for London.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.