Boris Johnson wins second term as Mayor

He won his second term by just 60,000 votes – or just 3 per cent - securing 1.05 million over his Labour rival Ken Livingstone's 992,000.

The battle for City Hall came down to the wire as the final tens of thousands of votes were counted.

Mr Johnson's comfortable lead as counting started on Friday morning narrowed as Labour-leaning areas declared late and there were wild swings across the capital.

However at almost midnight Tory jitters were calmed and the Mayor was finally confirmed.

Mr Johnson pledged to make a "storming start" to his second term running City Hall.

He vowed to fight for a "good deal for Londoners" from the Government - adding he wanted to "deliver prosperity" for all Londoners.

With turnout at an all-time low, Mr Johnson defied the national trend and returned to power, despite the Conservatives taking a beating in the local elections across much of Britain. David Cameron apologised after a night of dismal Tory losses, while Ed Miliband took over 700 council seats.

Mr Johnson's victory brought an end to a four-decade long career in London politics for Mr Livingstone, who confirmed this would be his last election battle.

He said: "This will be my last election. I am truly sorry that we could not pull this victory off. Londoners need a mayor to help them get through this difficult period."

It was not all good news for Mr Johnson as his deputy mayor Richard Barnes lost his Ealing and Hillingdon Assembly seat with a huge 8 per cent swing to Labour.

Labour was expected to pick up three extra seats at the Assembly, taking its total to 11, while the Tories lost two seats, taking them down to nine. The Greens and Lib Dems were expected to hold onto two seats each. One seat was still to play for.

Earlier, Mr Johnson brushed aside claims that victory in London would set him up for a return to Parliament as an MP in 2015 - followed by a battle for the leadership of the Tory party.

He told the Standard: "If I am fortunate enough to win I will need four years to deliver what I have promised. And having put trust at the heart of this election, I would serve out that term in full.

"I made a solemn vow to Londoners to lead them out of recession, bring down crime and deliver the growth, investment and jobs that this city so desperately needs. Keeping that promise cannot be combined with any other political capacity."

A YouGov poll for the Evening Standard yesterday predicted a six point lead for Mr Johnson.

Mr Livingstone's defeat was the end of an era for the high-profile politician who first led the capital three decades ago.

The maverick Labour figure has been an integral part of London politics for 40 years as a councillor, leader of the Greater London Council until 1986 when it was abolished by Margaret Thatcher, MP for Brent East and finally as Mayor of London, a post he held for eight years from 2000 until he was beaten first time by Mr Johnson.

His campaign team played down expectations from the moment the polls closed at 10pm on Thursday.

A source said: "This has been a tough campaign, which Ken has fought as challenger and underdog."

The party was already attempting to limit the fall-out for leader Ed Milband. One national Labour figure told the Standard: "Ken has always had an arms' length relationship with the Labour Party."

In a huge embarrassment for deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Lib Dem Brian Paddick was beaten by Green Jenny Jones into fourth place. Independent Siobhan Benita came fifth.

Tory Richard Tracey was the first candidate to be returned to the Assembly as member for Merton and Wandsworth. He said: "Boris obviously has got a very special personality. He has got that pop star or premier league footballer appeal. He is pretty clever also at pitching his message to other parties.

"I also think that Ken was the wrong candidate. I have known Ken for about 30 years, since back his GLC days.  He is past it."

Mr Johnson plans to meet senior figures from his City Hall administration tomorrow to start a reshuffle. He is expected to announce a new deputy mayor for the economy, move around senior members of his team and bring in some new faces.

One of the Mayor's first jobs in his in-tray will be to order hundreds of new Routemaster buses, with aides saying there could be as many as 200 on the streets in a year. "If he wins, Boris wants to make a storming start," said one. "There is a big job to get done. This term would be about jobs and growth and leading London out of the recession.

"He would start ordering the new buses in proper numbers. As soon as he’s satisfied by the prototypes on the streets at the moment he would look to place an order. It’s thought we could get 200 every year on to the streets."