Boris Johnson has won the Mayor of London elections, ousting Labour candidate Ken Livingstone after eight years in office.
The Tory candidate, once dismissed as the Bertie Wooster of British politics will now take charge of one of the biggest political offices in Britain.
The results were announced at midnight on Friday after 15 hours of counting. Johnson's victory will crown a sweeping victory for party leader David Cameron in the local elections the day before.
Johnson won just over one million first preference votes to secure 42.48 per cent of the vote; Ken Livingstone came second with 893,877 first preference votes (36.38 per cent); Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat candidate, came third with 236,685 votes to give him 9.63 per cent.
Paddick was then eliminated along with the seven other candidates. Their second preference votes were distributed, giving Johnson 1,168,738 votes (53 per cent) and 1,028,966 for Livingstone (47 per cent).
After the results were announced Johnson turned to pay tribute to the previous incumbent: "I think you have been a very considerable public servant and a distinguished leader of this city. You shaped the office of mayor. You gave it national prominence and when London was attacked on July 7th 2005 you spoke for London.
"And I can tell you that your courage and the sheer exuberant nerve with which you stuck it to your enemies, especially in New Labour, you have thereby earned the thanks of millions of Londoners even if you think that they have a funny way of showing it today."
He hinted that there could still be a role for Livingstone in his new administration, adding: "When we have that drink together, which we both so richly deserve, I hope we can discover a way in which the mayoralty can continue to benefit from your transparent love of London, a city whose energy conquered the world and which now brings the world together in one city."
Livingstone was tearful as he apologised to Labour members of the series of scandals that have rocked his administration in the run-up to the elections.
He said: "I'm sorry I couldn't get an extra few points that would take us to victory and the fault for that is solely my own.
"I accept that responsibility and I regret that I couldn't take you [Labour supporters] to victory."
In separate elections the day before, the Conservative party one 44 per cent of local councils in England and Wales, cementing the belief that the centre-right party are on their way to office.
Feeds