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'Londoners have chosen unity over division': First Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan blasts rival Zac Goldsmith's 'politics of fear' after winning record vote as top Tory slams 'return of the nasty party'
Sadiq Khan (pictured, main, leaving his home this morning) was officially declared the first Muslim Mayor of London last night after comfortably defeating Tory rival Zac Goldsmith (shown in inset photo). The result from City Hall was a boost for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In a victory speech (pictured left) Mr Khan said: 'I'm so proud that Londoners have today chosen hope over fear and unity over division.' The new mayor said he was 'deeply humbled' and was 'so proud' of London, adding that his late father, a bus driver, would have been very proud too. The bitterly contested battle had seen Mr Goldsmith repeatedly raise Mr Khan's ties to extremists, which has led to widespread criticism of the Conservative candidate's campaign.
David Cameron and Zac Goldsmith are facing a bitter Tory backlash over 'dog whistle' tactics in the London Mayor battle - with even the candidate's sister condemning his behaviour.
Jemima Khan added her voice to criticism of the Conservatives repeatedly raising concerns about Sadiq Khan's extremist ties.
The Prime Minister joined the attacks on the Labour candidate in the House of Commons, insisting there were questions about whether he would do the best for Londoners.
The efforts failed last night as Mr Khan romped to victory with a huge mandate in the mayoral contest.
And a series of Tories broke ranks to complain that the approach had done serious damage to the party's reputation.
Steve Hilton, David Cameron’s former director of strategy, said tonight: 'Zac Goldsmith has brought back the nasty party label to the Conservative Party.'
Zac Goldsmith and his sister Jemima during the 2010 general election campaign
Former Conservative chair Sayeeda Warsi said: 'Our appalling dog whistle campaign for London Mayor 2016 lost us the election, our reputation & credibility on issues of race and religion.'
Steven Norris, a former MP and mayoral candidate, insisted it was 'no use having a dog whistle when everybody can hear it' as he led criticism of Mr Goldsmith's campaign.
Andrew Boff, the Conservative leader on the Greater London assembly, said the strategy had been a mistake and could damage relations with the Muslim community.
Roger Evans, a deputy to Boris Johnson at City Hall, also weighed in, warning that Mr Goldsmith's campaign would leave a 'negative legacy'.
In a remarkable broadside on the Tory mayoral candidate, Mr Boff said his party's tactics could damage relations with the Muslim community.
Ms Khan, Mr Goldsmith's sister, posted on Twitter: 'Sad that Zac's campaign did not reflect who I know him to be - an eco friendly, independent-minded politician with integrity.'
She added: 'Congratulations to Sadiq Khan - 1st Muslim Mayor of London- a city for all cultures, backgrounds & religions. A great example to young Muslims.'
Roger Evans, a deputy to Mr Johnson, also weighed in, warning that Mr Goldsmith's campaign would leave a 'negative legacy'.
And former Conservative mayoral hopeful Steven Norris pointedly said there was 'no use having a dog whistle when everybody can hear it'.
The extent to which the negative campaign run by the Tories failed was laid bare as the results rolled in.
Mr Khan was rewarded by strong swings in the vote in his favour across the capital and results suggested he won across more of the city than previous Mayors.
The poll result also indicates Mr Khan is set to shake off the toxic anti-Semitism row which has engulfed Labour for the past week.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio led international congratulations to the new London Mayor, tweeting: 'Sending congratulations to London's new Mayor and fellow affordable housing advocate, @SadiqKhan. Look forward to working together!'
Baroness Warsi, a former Conservative Party chairwoman, led criticism of Mr Goldsmith for the way he conducted his mayoral campaign
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, offered her 'felicitations' on Twitter, saying she was looking forward to strengthening co-operation between the two capitals on key issues like housing, pollution and culture.
Former Labour leader Ed Miliband said: 'Congratulations Sadiq Khan. You will be an outstanding Mayor of London.
'Your positive vision and dignity beat a campaign of fear and division.'
Outgoing mayor Mr Johnson today thanked the capital for his eight years in office as he sent his final messages from the official London Mayor Twitter account.
He tweeted: 'It's time to sign off from City Hall - it's been the most amazing privilege to be your mayor.'
Outgoing mayor Boris Johnson signed off from his official Twitter account today and said it had been the 'most amazing privilege' to fill the role for the past eight years
Minutes after the polls closed in the London mayoral election last night, Mr Boff criticised Mr Goldsmith's strategy for focussing on Mr Khan's apparent links with radical Muslims, telling the BBC: 'It was effectively saying that people of conservative religious views are not to be trusted and you should not share a platform with them.
'That's outrageous.'
He added Mr Goldsmith had 'done real damage' and had 'blown up bridges' that the Tories had built with London's Muslim communities, adding it was a mistake to 'equate people of conservative religious views with sympathising with terrorism'.
'I mentioned that I thought this was a mistake for future integration in London. If you are a London politician this is just a bizarre thing to do,' he said.
'I do believe it's going to affect Conservatives at the sharp end, especially in those parts of London where there is a high Muslim population.'
Jeremy Corbyn was among the first to congratulate Mr Khan tonight even before the official results of the eleciton were declared
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio led international congratulations for the new Mayor of London
Mr Evans told BuzzFeed: 'I'm concerned that the campaign we've run is going to leave a negative legacy which we in London are going to have to clear up long after the the people who ran Zac Goldsmith's campaign have gone on their way.
'I've been the deputy mayor for the last year and it's been my job to go and talk to communities in London,.
'I've always been very pleased with the courtesy with which I was received and the hearing all communities were willing to give to a Conservative politician.
'We're going to have to do quite a lot of work to re-establish trust with a lot of communities in London, that's a shame and an opportunity missed.'
Sadiq Khan arrives at City Hall for the London Mayoral results tonight with wife Saadiya, right
Sadiq Khan (pictured, main, leaving his home this morning) was officially declared the first Muslim Mayor of London last night after comfortably defeating Tory rival Zac Goldsmith (shown in inset photo). The result from City Hall was a boost for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In a victory speech (pictured left) Mr Khan said: 'I'm so proud that Londoners have today chosen hope over fear and unity over division.' The new mayor said he was 'deeply humbled' and was 'so proud' of London, adding that his late father, a bus driver, would have been very proud too. The bitterly contested battle had seen Mr Goldsmith repeatedly raise Mr Khan's ties to extremists, which has led to widespread criticism of the Conservative candidate's campaign.
David Cameron and Zac Goldsmith are facing a bitter Tory backlash over 'dog whistle' tactics in the London Mayor battle - with even the candidate's sister condemning his behaviour.
Jemima Khan added her voice to criticism of the Conservatives repeatedly raising concerns about Sadiq Khan's extremist ties.
The Prime Minister joined the attacks on the Labour candidate in the House of Commons, insisting there were questions about whether he would do the best for Londoners.
The efforts failed last night as Mr Khan romped to victory with a huge mandate in the mayoral contest.
And a series of Tories broke ranks to complain that the approach had done serious damage to the party's reputation.
Steve Hilton, David Cameron’s former director of strategy, said tonight: 'Zac Goldsmith has brought back the nasty party label to the Conservative Party.'
Zac Goldsmith and his sister Jemima during the 2010 general election campaign
Former Conservative chair Sayeeda Warsi said: 'Our appalling dog whistle campaign for London Mayor 2016 lost us the election, our reputation & credibility on issues of race and religion.'
Steven Norris, a former MP and mayoral candidate, insisted it was 'no use having a dog whistle when everybody can hear it' as he led criticism of Mr Goldsmith's campaign.
Andrew Boff, the Conservative leader on the Greater London assembly, said the strategy had been a mistake and could damage relations with the Muslim community.
Roger Evans, a deputy to Boris Johnson at City Hall, also weighed in, warning that Mr Goldsmith's campaign would leave a 'negative legacy'.
In a remarkable broadside on the Tory mayoral candidate, Mr Boff said his party's tactics could damage relations with the Muslim community.
Ms Khan, Mr Goldsmith's sister, posted on Twitter: 'Sad that Zac's campaign did not reflect who I know him to be - an eco friendly, independent-minded politician with integrity.'
She added: 'Congratulations to Sadiq Khan - 1st Muslim Mayor of London- a city for all cultures, backgrounds & religions. A great example to young Muslims.'
Roger Evans, a deputy to Mr Johnson, also weighed in, warning that Mr Goldsmith's campaign would leave a 'negative legacy'.
And former Conservative mayoral hopeful Steven Norris pointedly said there was 'no use having a dog whistle when everybody can hear it'.
The extent to which the negative campaign run by the Tories failed was laid bare as the results rolled in.
Mr Khan was rewarded by strong swings in the vote in his favour across the capital and results suggested he won across more of the city than previous Mayors.
The poll result also indicates Mr Khan is set to shake off the toxic anti-Semitism row which has engulfed Labour for the past week.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio led international congratulations to the new London Mayor, tweeting: 'Sending congratulations to London's new Mayor and fellow affordable housing advocate, @SadiqKhan. Look forward to working together!'
Baroness Warsi, a former Conservative Party chairwoman, led criticism of Mr Goldsmith for the way he conducted his mayoral campaign
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, offered her 'felicitations' on Twitter, saying she was looking forward to strengthening co-operation between the two capitals on key issues like housing, pollution and culture.
Former Labour leader Ed Miliband said: 'Congratulations Sadiq Khan. You will be an outstanding Mayor of London.
'Your positive vision and dignity beat a campaign of fear and division.'
Outgoing mayor Mr Johnson today thanked the capital for his eight years in office as he sent his final messages from the official London Mayor Twitter account.
He tweeted: 'It's time to sign off from City Hall - it's been the most amazing privilege to be your mayor.'
Outgoing mayor Boris Johnson signed off from his official Twitter account today and said it had been the 'most amazing privilege' to fill the role for the past eight years
Minutes after the polls closed in the London mayoral election last night, Mr Boff criticised Mr Goldsmith's strategy for focussing on Mr Khan's apparent links with radical Muslims, telling the BBC: 'It was effectively saying that people of conservative religious views are not to be trusted and you should not share a platform with them.
'That's outrageous.'
He added Mr Goldsmith had 'done real damage' and had 'blown up bridges' that the Tories had built with London's Muslim communities, adding it was a mistake to 'equate people of conservative religious views with sympathising with terrorism'.
'I mentioned that I thought this was a mistake for future integration in London. If you are a London politician this is just a bizarre thing to do,' he said.
'I do believe it's going to affect Conservatives at the sharp end, especially in those parts of London where there is a high Muslim population.'
Jeremy Corbyn was among the first to congratulate Mr Khan tonight even before the official results of the eleciton were declared
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio led international congratulations for the new Mayor of London
Mr Evans told BuzzFeed: 'I'm concerned that the campaign we've run is going to leave a negative legacy which we in London are going to have to clear up long after the the people who ran Zac Goldsmith's campaign have gone on their way.
'I've been the deputy mayor for the last year and it's been my job to go and talk to communities in London,.
'I've always been very pleased with the courtesy with which I was received and the hearing all communities were willing to give to a Conservative politician.
'We're going to have to do quite a lot of work to re-establish trust with a lot of communities in London, that's a shame and an opportunity missed.'
Sadiq Khan arrives at City Hall for the London Mayoral results tonight with wife Saadiya, right
