Boris Johnson is narrowly ahead of Ken Livingstone in the 2012 London mayoral race, our first poll of London residents on the issue shows.
- The eccentric Conservative MP Johnson is only narrowly ahead on first preferences, by 46% to 44%. On a forced choice between Johnson and Livingstone, Boris would beat Ken by 46% to 41%, with 14% saying don't know.
- Boris has a positive job approval, but his predecessor is also seen as having performed well. 58% think Johnson is doing well as Mayor, but 56% also think Livingstone did well during his time as Mayor. On specific measures, Boris has a positive rating on the London buses, crime and the Olympics, but a negative approval on his handling of the tube. Ken Livingstone has higher ratings than Boris Johnson on both competence, and being in touch with the concerns of ordinary Londoners.
- 48% of those in London think tube workers should have the right to strike, 40% think they shouldn't. A solid majority of respondents supported Boris Johnson's suggestion of minimum turnouts for strike ballots to make strikes harder though (62% support to 22% opposed).
In 2008, YouGov was the only company to correctly predict Johnson's election as London mayor. Our final poll correctly projected Johnson to beat Livingstone by 53% to 47%.
We interviewed 1,271 respondents online between 5th and 8th October. Results have been weighted to be representative of London adults.
