Populus show Boris Johnson 12 points ahead

The Times has a new Populus poll of the London mayoral election, which gives Boris Johnson his biggest lead so far. The first round figures are JOHNSON 46%, LIVINGSTONE 34%, JONES 6%, PADDICK 5%, BENITA 5%, WEBB 3%, CORTIGLIA 1%. With second preferences reallocated the final figures become JOHNSON 56%, LIVINGSTONE 44% - a very solid 12 point lead for Boris Johnson, twice his winning margin in 2008.

The poll also has Westminster voting intentions for London, which stand at CON 33%, LAB 44%, LDEM 11%, Others 13%, so again Boris is outperforming the Conservatives, Ken underperforming Labour. The eleven point lead for Labour in the capital represents a swing of 4.5 points to Labour since the election, suggesting a smaller swing to Labour than in the country as a whole (it would be the equivalent of a 2 point national Labour lead), and significantly less than YouGov's recent London polls.

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