More Londoners believe Zac Goldsmith has the “X Factor” needed to be Mayor, but that Sadiq Khan would work hardest for the capital, a new poll reveals today.
The Opinium survey found that 28 per cent of adults in the capital see Conservative Mr Goldsmith as having that special something required to take over at City Hall, compared with 24 per cent for Labour’s Mr Khan, and 26 per cent saying neither of them.
However, 32 per cent believe that Tooting MP Mr Khan would work hardest for London, with Richmond Park MP Mr Goldsmith on 27 per cent. Just under a third said “don’t know” and 11 per cent said “none of them”.
Mr Goldsmith is most trusted to protect London from terrorist attacks by 23 per cent of adults, with Mr Khan on 21 per cent, with more than half not knowing or apparently having little faith in either man.
Adam Drummond, head of political polling at Opinium, said: “Compared to the star power of Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone, Zac and Sadiq have not managed to excite Londoners in great numbers and these figures underline that. Neither candidate appears to have the public’s confidence in protecting the city from terrorist attacks either. Hopefully, whoever wins in May will not have their abilities tested in this area.”
Mr Khan launched his campaign early and this seems to be paying off, with just over a quarter of Londoners more likely to consider voting for him.
One in 10 are less likely to think about voting doing so since his campaign started. For Mr Goldsmith, just over a fifth are more likely to consider backing him, with nine per cent less likely.
Opinium conducted 1,015 online interviews with London adults from March 30 to April 3. Data are weighted.
