On 6 May 2021, Londoners will vote in their sixth mayoral election. I’ve polled London Grindr users twice before, for the 2017 and 2019 general elections. (I’ve also polled Scotland 6 times – on Scottish independence, Brexit, the 2015, 2017, and 2019 general elections, and the 2019 European election; the United States twice – on the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections; and Wales once – on the 2015 general election.) This time, I asked 1,059 Grindr users across London who they want to be their mayor.
The following is a sample of the replies.
(Faces in profile pictures have been censored.)
![Me: Good morning, Ok Big Balls. Who are you supporting in the forthcoming London mayoral election? Ok Big Balls: [a photo of his balls, that I've censored] Me: Are they on the ballot? Ok Big Balls: Yes](https://www.machotrouts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/18-IMG_2887.png)
![Me: Good evening, huggernaut. Who are you supporting in the forthcoming London mayoral election? huggernaut: Hah. If you're the same chap who has done political polls on Grindr before, I've seen the results on Twitter before, and have greatly enjoyed them! It's a real tough one, to be honest. TL;DR: I will probably end up spoiling my ballot, for the first time in any election. huggernaut: In 2016 I voted Green as my first preference, and Labour as my second. I joined the Labour party under Corbyn's tenure as leader, and became a party activist, but have pretty much given up on it under Starmer, and will let my membership lapse. huggernaut: In my opinion, Sadiq Khan has achieved very little in office, especially on affordable housing. Also, this stance about the 2019 general election result, as well as consistently attacking Corbyn rather than getting behind him sealed the deal for me. Especially given what we're seeing with the current Tory government. huggernaut: [picture of an article headlined "Sadiq Khan says voters 'got it right' by not backing Labour at general election"] huggernaut: The Green Party (in England and Wales, at least) have serious issues with transphobia, having managed to elect a TERF as their co-chair of Green Party Women. huggernaut: Having just looked it up, it looks like Siân Berry is actively trying to distance herself from that, having pledged to make London the most "trans-inclusive city in the world" and protect LGBT spaces. But I still wouldn't want to endorse the party as a whole, under those circumstances. huggernaut: With the Lib Dems still being led by Ed Davey, who was deeply involved in the austerity policies of the Coalition years, I wouldn't want to vote for the Lib Dems either.](https://www.machotrouts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/20-IMG_2535.png)
![Me: Good evening, freak nasty. Who are you supporting in the forthcoming London mayoral election? freak nasty: don't care,the system is flawed regardless who wins...the entire works system freak nasty: [confusing and ominous image of what appears to be a cartoon cat next to a figure wearing a skull mask] freak nasty: that's my candidate meet "the moist" Me: Pleased to meet you, "the moist". freak nasty: the moist is for freedom before equality freak nasty: and less government Me: I don't think the moist is on the ballot. freak nasty: exactly freak nasty: the moist lives on the grid freak nasty: off the grid](https://www.machotrouts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/26-IMG_2762.png)
STATISTICS:
Of the 1,059 users I questioned, 293 responses were counted. 74 of these answered with an eligible candidate. 11 of the 20 candidates on the ballot received at least 1 vote. Here are the results:
| 38 (51%) | SADIQ KHAN (Labour) |
| 12 (16%) | SIÂN BERRY (Green) |
| 7 (9%) | NIKO OMILANA (independent) |
| 4 (5%) | SHAUN BAILEY (Conservative) |
| 3 (4%) | LUISA PORRITT (Lib Dem) |
| 2 (3%) | BRIAN ROSE (London Real) |
| 2 (3%) | COUNT BINFACE (Count Binface Party) |
| 2 (3%) | MAX FOSH (independent) |
| 2 (3%) | VALERIE BROWN (Burning Pink) |
| 1 (1%) | DAVID KURTEN (Heritage) |
| 1 (1%) | PETER GAMMONS (UKIP) |
| 0 (0%) | LAURENCE FOX (Reclaim) |
| 0 (0%) | MANDU REID (Women's Equality) |
| 0 (0%) | PIERS CORBYN (Let London Live) |
| 0 (0%) | STEVE KELLEHER (SDP) |
| 0 (0%) | VANESSA HUDSON (Animal Welfare) |
| 0 (0%) | KAM BALAYEV (Renew) |
| 0 (0%) | RICHARD HEWISON (Rejoin EU) |
| 0 (0%) | NIMS OBUNGE (independent) |
| 0 (0%) | FARAH LONDON (independent) |
Incumbent mayor Sadiq Khan is comfortably re-elected, while Siân Berry, Niko Omilana, and Shaun Bailey at least clear the 5% mark required not to lose their deposits.
Ballots in London mayoral elections allow you to select a second preference candidate. I didn’t ask for second preferences, but two respondents volunteered them anyway – both of them were Luisa Porritt voters whose second preference is Sadiq Khan. As Khan already has more than 50% of Grindr’s first-round votes, second preferences would not be required here.
Some respondents also told me their least favourite candidates. Sadiq Khan is the least favourite of 8 respondents, Shaun Bailey is the least favourite of 5, and Laurence Fox and Brian Rose each the least favourite of 2.
Not counted towards the percentages are the following responses:
| 40 | Undecided |
| 28 | None of the above (inc. 1 spoiled ballot) |
| 9 | Not eligible to vote |
| 142 | Evasive or unclear |
Only 2 undecided respondents clarified who exactly they were undecided between – one couldn’t decide between Max Fosh and Niko Omilana, and one couldn’t decide between Siân Berry and Sadiq Khan. They were not counted in the results for any of those candidates.
Evasive or unclear responses can be roughly divided into the following categories:
| 20 | None of your business |
| 14 | What the fuck? |
| 14 | Non sequitur/incomprehensible |
| 13 | Vague/cryptic |
| 11 | This is not the place for that |
| 11 | Too horny to engage politically |
| 10 | Miscellaneous evasion |
| 10 | Joke answers (e.g. Baby Yoda, Margaret Rutherford, Brian Paddick etc) |
| 9 | Why? |
| 9 | What about you? |
| 8 | That's an unusual chat-up line |
| 7 | Fuck off, fuck you, shut the fuck up etc |
| 6 | Who cares? |
This is one of three polls conducted in the run-up to the elections of May 6 2021. The other two are: