Racing to the finish line: Boris marches towards predicted six-point win over Ken to help ease night of Tory council election pain

Boris Johnson is tonight set to defy political gravity by defeating Ken Livingstone, taking the sting out of the loss of hundreds of Conservative council seats around the country.

With the Tories and their Liberal Democrat coalition partners haemorrhaging support to Labour, the London mayor appeared confident of seeing off Ken Livingstone’s challenge in the capital, with a final poll suggesting he had extended his lead to six points.

Significantly, it also suggested the Tory had scooped up the support of one in every ten Labour voters. YouGov predicted Mr Johnson would deliver a 53-47 per cent win. The final results are expected to be announced this evening.         Full Read