By IRNA
London : Conservative candidate Boris Johnson has opened up a 12-point lead to replace Ken Livingstone as the mayor of London, according to an opinion poll published Monday.
The survey for the London Evening Standard says that 49 per cent of voters would use their first-preference votes to back Johnson, a flamboyant former opposition front-bench spokesman, while only 37 per cent backed the current idiosyncratic mayor.
The Conservative candidate was also ahead of Livingstone on second-preference votes, which is used in the electoral system for London mayor.
Livingstone, who is Labour’s official candidate, won the first two elections for the post in 2000, as an independent and in 2004, after he was readmitted to the ruling party. The third elections are to be held in May.
The latest poll contrasts with a similar survey in January, which showed the mayor ahead of Johnson by four points in January. But by February, the position was reversed with the Conservative candidate leading by five points.