Greens and Ukip could test Paddick in fight for mayor poll third place

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The former Met police chief, who came third in the 2008 election behind Tory Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone, Labour's candidate this year, faces challenges from the Green Party as well as Ukip.

A YouGov poll for the Standard this week shows the Lib-Dem mayoral hopeful is trailing far behind his rivals, with just six per cent of the vote.

The Green Party's Jenny Jones and Ukip's Lawrence Webb are both now understood to be targeting third place at the May 3 election. "Mr Paddick has said he believes he will still achieve the 'best ever result for the Liberal Democrats in a Greater London Authority election' but he admitted to the MayorWatch site that 'London Liberal Democrats have not really started our media campaign yet' ".

The YouGov poll shows he has credibility on crime, with 15 per cent of voters saying they would trust him to handle the issue best. But Mr Paddick is failing miserably to make progress in other areas important to voters. Only one per cent of voters trust him on transport, arguably the most crucial issue to Londoners.

Tony Travers, of the London School of Economics, said: "Lib-Dems nationally get nine per cent of the vote and in London the polls show Paddick on five per cent. It's not good. I would be very surprised if the Greens and Ukip were to overtake him but they will certainly be having a go.
"The difficulty for Paddick is that he finds himself stuck between two omnipresent candidates."

Ms Jones, who also sits on the London Assembly, said: "I think it would be quite possible [to finish third]. The Lib-Dems are going through a really tough time at the moment and that could easily be reflected in the vote this time."

Asked whether he can pip Mr Paddick to third place, Mr Webb, a former electrician, added: "I hope so. From a broader Ukip point, are we positioning ourselves to be the third party in UK politics? Absolutely. Is London a stepping stone to achieving that? Yes it is.

"Obviously my aim is to be mayor, but third would be a huge achievement."

A source in Mr Paddick's campaign said: "We are not concerned," and pointed out that in 2010 the Lib-Dems still had more than two million votes across London in council elections.