London Mayoral Election

London congestion zone. Nicholas Asfour: AP.

Don't know yet, but it may be that Ken Livingstone pulls it out, although Labour has lost big in local elections throughout the United Kingdom. See "Waiting game as final poll shows Boris threatens to drive Ken out of City Hall," from the Independent. Also see "Labour fears worst for Livingstone" from the Guardian.

From the Guardian:

Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, gave a strong hint that she expects the Tory Boris Johnson to be declared mayor when the results are announced, probably late this afternoon. Other Labour sources have also indicated that the high turnout, particularly in the London suburbs, could have delivered the mayoralty to Johnson...

This morning, when asked on GMTV to predict the winner of the mayoral contest, Harman said she "did not expect the London result to be any different from the rest of the country". Labour party workers were insisting overnight that the high turnout in inner London could yet deliver a third term for Livingstone.

And this sheds some interesting light on the idea of metropolitan governance. It's tough when you have to balance city and suburban interests in order to remain in office.

Note that in the UK, election polls close at 10 pm, everywhere. Hours at polling sites, which vary according to jurisdiction, is one among many things about voting in the U.S. that depresses participation--people go to work early and come home late, and so the hours an election poll is open need to accommodate mobility patterns. (Some countries have voting on a Saturday, or make it a national holiday.)