London looks set to elect Muslim mayor

Opposition Labour candidate Sadiq Khan had a strong lead in final polls before today's London mayoral elections, putting him on course to become the first Muslim leader of a European Union capital.

After a bad-tempered campaign, two surveys yesterday gave the son of a bus driver a lead of up to 14 points over Zac Goldsmith, his multimillionaire rival from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party.

After a final rally with Cameron, Goldsmith campaigned overnight in a last-minute push for votes, meeting traders at the Billingsgate fish market and helping deliver milk at dawn in the upmarket district of Kensington.

Khan has distanced himself from a scandal over anti-Semitism in the national Labour party and has defended himself against attacks from Goldsmith for failing to condemn Muslim extremists.

There are ten other candidates to replace Conservative Boris Johnson as mayor, a position that has responsibility for transport, policing, housing and promoting economic development, but none of them have a chance.

An Opinium survey for the Evening Standard newspaper put Khan on 35 percent compared to 26 percent for Goldsmith.

His lead lengthened once second preference votes were taken into account, to 57 percent against Goldsmith's 43 percent.

A second poll, by ComRes for LBC radio and ITV London news, put Khan on 45 percent and Goldsmith on 36 percent on first preference votes, moving to 56 percent and 44 percent on second preferences.

The race for the mayoralty has been marked by negative campaigning between two very different candidates.