Three unions overwhelmingly endorsed the left-wing MP, Mr Ken Livingstone, as their choice for mayor of London yesterday, as the countdown began before the announcement of Labour's mayoral candidate, which is expected at the weekend.
In a result that produced few surprises, Mr Livingstone won the support of the GMB Union which represents general workers, including postal, rail and leisure industry employees, by polling 67 per cent in a ballot. The two other Labour candidates came a long way behind. Mr Frank Dobson, the leadership's preferred candidate, received 19 per cent and Ms Glenda Jackson got 13 per cent.
A ballot of members of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, which represents office workers within the railway system, backed Mr Livingstone with just under 75 per cent of votes. Mr Dobson received 13 per cent and Ms Jackson 12 per cent.
And in another union ballot, over 70 per cent of members of the Communication Workers' Union, representing postal and British Telecom workers, endorsed Mr Livingstone's candidacy. A breakdown of the result revealed that Mr Livingstone polled 11,941 votes, while Mr Dobson received 2,548 and Ms Jackson 2,291 votes.
The three unions will now cast their votes for Mr Livingstone in the union section of the electoral college system chosen by the Labour leadership to select its candidate.
The result is a major boost for Mr Livingstone, who has already received the backing of the Transport and General Workers' Union, the Graphical Paper and Media Union and the Fire Brigades' Union in his campaign for the mayoral candidacy. His main rival, Mr Dobson, is trailing in the union section, having won the support of only two unions so far - the Amalgamated Engineering and Electoral Union and the London Co-operative Party - both of which refused to ballot their members.
When voting in the affiliated section closes later today, Labour members and the candidates will have three days in which to appeal or complain about the result, which is expected some time on Sunday. Ms Jackson has indicated she will launch a legal challenge if there is any sign of impropriety.
However, the outcome of the mayoral race is far from certain. While Mr Dobson does not have as much support among union members as Mr Livingstone, he is expected to dominate the MP/MEP third of the electoral college. Observers believe he may even secure enough grassroots support from Labour members to tip the balance of votes in his favour, which could open the way for Mr Livingstone to stand as an independent candidate.
PA adds: Tory and Liberal Democrat threats to defeat the government with their calls for a free mail shot for candidates in the elections for London's mayor and assembly were dismissed as "bizarre" in the House of Commons yesterday.
The Leader of the House, Ms Margaret Beckett, said the £15 million cost of sending out each candidate's election address would fund between 500 and 600 extra police officers.
Ms Beckett was responding to the deputy Commons leader, Sir George Young, who warned the government faced defeat on the issue when rules on running the elections go before the Lords for approval on Monday.
The government has already warned that the May elections may be blocked if Tories and Liberal Democrats oppose the package in protest at the failure to provide a free mail shot.