The former Mayor has a 2 point lead in a new Comres poll carried out for LBC, ITV London and the Evening Standard.
According to the latest poll, Livingstone leads both on first preference votes (46% to 44%) and after second preference votes are redistributed (51 to 49%).
The poll mirrors last week’s YouGov poll which also showed a 2% lead and a 51/49% for Livingstone.
Both polls suggests London faces its closest Mayoral election yet, however LBC reports “despite the results, when asked, most Londoners still expect Mr Johnson to win.”
“Boris struggles to win support among Londoners aged 18-44 while Ken struggles to gain the support of older people.”
Last year both polling companies gave Johnson a comfortable 8 point lead.
Despite his overall lead, Livingstone leads on only on the question of who understands the needs of ordinary Londoners. Johnson leads on fighting crime and changing London for the better.
Comres say: “Overall, the election is still Boris’s to win if he can appeal particularly to younger voters and to Lib Dems for their second preferences. He also needs to work harder to show that he understands the concerns of “ordinary” Londoners.
“Boris leads Ken on almost every measure in this poll, including (by some margin) being able to get the best deal for London from central Government.”
The declared candidates for May’s Mayoral elections are: Boris Johnson (Conservative), Ken Livingstone (Labour), Jenny Jones (Green), Brian Paddick (Liberal Democract), and Lawrence Webb (UKIP).
