Ken’s price moves in sharply after YouGov has him ahead

A new YouGov poll finds a sharp swing to Ken in its latest London poll. After handling 2nd preferences Ken is leading Boris by 51 to 49. Last June Boris had an 8 point lead on 54% – 46%.

So good news for Ken, Labour and Ed Miliband. A battle that looked lost now looks as though it could be won.

Ladbrokes report a steady stream of bets for the Labour candidate forcing his odds in to 7/4 whilst Boris Johnson drifts to 4/9, despite attracting nearly 100% of the bets in the opening months of the campaign.

There’s still a long way to go and the strategic Inner-Outer London challenge still faces the red team. The election is decided on the total of votes recorded throughout the capital and the experience has been that the outer boroughs have much higher turnouts.

The poll does record that Labour general election voters are now much more likely to support Ken in the coming fight.

White House race developments My Telegraph blog post on a dramatic day in the #GOP2012 race. Is a Romney victory now less inevitable? http://tgr.ph/weiZVq

Mike Smithson @MikeSmithsonOGH