Ken Livingstone has been elected Mayor of London for a second term, after a more closely fought race to City Hall than many pundits had predicted until just yesterday.

The official Labour candidate was declared duly elected as Mayor shortly before 8.00pm by a margin of just 161,202 votes in a city of over eight million.

View the full election results for

London's mayor and assembly

Votes for the first two candidates were: Ken Livingstone (Labour) 828,380; Steve Norris (Conservative) 667,178 - after a run-off, neither candidate having won a substantive majority in the first ballot.

Dignified in defeat Mr. Norris commented, "I'm sorry I lost, but if I had to lose I'm proud to lose to Ken Livingstone." He also promised to hold the Mayor to account over crime in London.

Echoing the sentiment Simon Hughes for the Liberal Democrats promised active and constructive opposition to the renewed Livingstone regime.

In his victory speech Mr. Livingstone said he was proud to have been re-elected on his record of progressive government and re-distribution of wealth. He also praised his chief opponent.

"Steve posed more of a threat than I would have liked," he said. "It just shows that rumours of the death of the Conservative party in London have been overplayed."

Mr Livingstone's job will be made more difficult in his second term as electoral support for Labour on the London assembly waned in voting across the capital.

In one key loss for the party Metropolitan Police Authority chairman Lord Toby Harris was ousted by the Tories from his Brent and Harrow constituency.

With final results and calcuations yet to be completed, it is estimated that the Tories will now be the largest group on the GLA with (possibly) as many as four more seats than any other single party.