The British Labour Party announced yesterday that Mr Frank Dobson will be its candidate for London mayor, concluding one of the most bitter internal conflicts in the party's history.
But the battle may not be over yet as the runner-up, Mr Ken Livingstone, considers standing as an independent.
Mr Dobson won 51.53 per cent of the ballot, with Mr Livingstone coming in second with 48.47 per cent. The third candidate, Ms Glenda Jackson, was eliminated after the first count.
While Mr Livingstone declined to say yesterday whether he would stand as an independent, he had previously said he would not accept a narrow defeat. Speaking at his home in London yesterday, he called on Mr Dobson to "consider whether he is willing to accept this tainted result". He went on to assert that the former health secretary was unlikely to beat the Conservative candidate, Mr Steve Norris.
Mr Dobson yesterday rejected calls to stand down. Claiming he was delighted with the result, he said: "I am the first-choice candidate under the method all three candidates accepted."
Mr Livingstone complained about the exclusion of a branch of the Graphical Paper and Media Union, which had supported him, from the vote. The independent scrutineers, Unity Security Balloting, rejected the complaint on the grounds that the branch had paid no subscriptions for two years.
The collegiate system employed gave the votes of 75 MPs, MEPs and Greater London Assembly candidates the same weight as those of some 36,000 grassroots Labour Party members.
The only unions to come out in support of Mr Dobson were those which submitted block votes rather than balloting their members, and all those that did ballot their members recorded majority support for Mr Livingstone.
"At a rough estimate, a total of 80,000 people have voted for me in all sections of the electoral college, compared to 25,000 for Frank," Mr Livingstone said.
"This result has been delivered by one trade union boss, one retired MEP and one small co-op branch, which did not ballot its members. It is based on the fact that 8 per cent of the electoral college was voted by Sir Ken Jackson and the South London Co-op branch, who refused to allow their members to cast their own votes and cast them instead for Frank Dobson . . . He must decide whether he is willing to accept this tainted result or stand down in the interests of Labour and London," Mr Livingstone said.
If Mr Livingstone does stand as an independent it will mean a new chapter in the bitter internal discord which has characterised the party's campaign.