Sadiq Khan’s approval ratings have fallen firmly into negative territory for the first time since he became mayor in 2016, a new poll has revealed.
A survey by YouGov shows that 48 per cent of adults in the capital say Mr Khan is doing badly with more than a quarter of those surveyed saying he was doing very badly.
By contrast only 38 per cent say he is doing well – a fall of seven percentage points since the last time YouGov conducted a survey on the mayor’s performance in March 2021.
The findings give him a net approval rating of minus ten, the first time he has gone so clearly into negative territory, according to YouGov’s tracker.
A separate poll, commissioned by City Hall in May 2019, saw Mr Khan’s net popularity score fall to minus one.
His highest approval rating in the YouGov tracker came in May 2017 – a year after he was first elected – when 61 per cent of Londoners said Mr Khan was doing a good job. Mr Khan won a second term as Mayor in May 2021, with a 55 per cent share of the votes after a second-round run off.
Abigail Axe-Browne, research manager at YouGov, said: “Almost a year into his second term as Mayor of London, and for the first time since YouGov started asking in 2017, more Londoners think Sadiq Khan is doing badly than well.
“While he is retaining support amongst 2019 Labour voters, his scores have declined notably among them over the past year.
“On three key areas he has responsibility for – crime, housing and transport – more Londoners think he is performing badly than believe he is performing well. Perhaps more damaging for the Mayor is the fact 2019 Labour voters also tend to disapprove of his handling of housing and crime.”
YouGov’s survey found that over half of adults – 51 per cent – in outer London thought the Mayor was doing badly compared to 43 per cent in inner London. The over 65s were Mr Khan’s harshest critics with 56 per cent of people saying he was doing badly compared to 37 per cent of 18-24 year olds.
