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Sadiq Khan today looked on course to make history as Mayor of London despite a last-minute fall in his lead over rival Zac Goldsmith.

As Londoners began voting, the final poll of the year-long battle for City Hall found the Labour lawyer ahead of the Tory environmentalist by 43 per cent to 32 per cent on first preference votes.

In the final run-off, according to the YouGov survey exclusively for the Evening Standard, Mr Khan is heading for a victory that would make him the capital’s first Muslim mayor by a clear 57 to 43 margin.

The gap narrowed as the bitterly contested fight to succeed Boris Johnson entered its final hours.

Since YouGov’s last survey a fortnight ago, Mr Khan’s lead has fallen from 16 points to 11 points on first preferences, and is down from a landslide 20 points in the run-off to 14.

The figures injected hope into the Goldsmith campaign that there could be a late swing in his favour before the result is announced on Friday night, especially with the turnout being predicted to slump below a meagre 35 per cent.

One theory was that the searing row over Ken Livingstone’s Hitler comments and anti-Semitism in the Labour Party had jolted the Khan bandwagon just as it was nearing the finish line.

Today’s survey also sees Londoners giving the new mayor his orders, setting out exactly what they want to see delivered in key areas.

On housing, Londoners want homes to rent and buy at prices they can afford, with over four in 10 saying affordability is their top priority. Only one in six think the number one goal should be an increase in housebuilding. Some 37 per cent want the mayor to prioritise making it harder for foreign investors to snap up new flats and houses before Londoners get a chance. But only two in 10 think protecting the green belt is a top priority, and 15 per cent said the number one goal should be an increase in housebuilding.

On transport, almost half of Londoners want fares frozen, and more than a third are demanding a one-hour bus ticket that allows riders to change bus without paying twice. Only one in six say higher investment in rail, Tube and bus services partly funded by fare rises should be the priority.

When it comes to cleaning up the capital’s dirty air, phasing out diesel buses and taxis more quickly is the top demand for public in the capital. It is followed by encouraging more electric vehicles and bringing forward the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone, currently slated to start in 2020. Fewer people thought pedestrianising Oxford Street or building more cycle-superhighways should be the priority.

The results suggest Mr Khan’s flagship policies matched the mood of Londoners better than Mr Goldsmith’s. A fares freeze - which was a signature Khan pledge - was almost twice as popular among Conservatives as Mr Goldsmith’s policy of guarding higher transport investment partly with annual fares increases.

Polling Day - London Mayoral Elections 9 show all Polling Day - London Mayoral Elections 1/9 Conservative London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith leaves with his wife, Alice, after casting his vote in the London Mayor election at Kitson Hall in Barne Andrew Matthews/PA 2/9 Mayor of London Boris Johnson and wife Marina arrive to cast their votes at a polling station in Islington, north London Stefan Rousseau/PA 3/9 Sadiq Khan goes to vote on the last day of the Mayoral race to be London Mayor with his wife Saadiya Khan Alex Lentati 4/9 Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his vote at a polling station in Islington, north London. Stefan Rousseau/PA 5/9 George Osborne casts his vote in the London Mayoral Election on May 05, 2016 in London Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images 6/9 David Cameron and Samantha Cameron arrive to cast their votes in the London Mayoral Election Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images 7/9 Sian Berry, Green Party Myoral candidate at the polling station today Tilda Long 8/9 Sandi Toksvig voting this morning for Women's Equality Party Catherine Riley 9/9 Zac and Alice Goldsmith arrive to vote in Barnes Jeremy Selwyn 1/9 Conservative London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith leaves with his wife, Alice, after casting his vote in the London Mayor election at Kitson Hall in Barne Andrew Matthews/PA 2/9 Mayor of London Boris Johnson and wife Marina arrive to cast their votes at a polling station in Islington, north London Stefan Rousseau/PA 3/9 Sadiq Khan goes to vote on the last day of the Mayoral race to be London Mayor with his wife Saadiya Khan Alex Lentati 4/9 Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his vote at a polling station in Islington, north London. Stefan Rousseau/PA 5/9 George Osborne casts his vote in the London Mayoral Election on May 05, 2016 in London Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images 6/9 David Cameron and Samantha Cameron arrive to cast their votes in the London Mayoral Election Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images 7/9 Sian Berry, Green Party Myoral candidate at the polling station today Tilda Long 8/9 Sandi Toksvig voting this morning for Women's Equality Party Catherine Riley 9/9 Zac and Alice Goldsmith arrive to vote in Barnes Jeremy Selwyn

Moreover, the most popular housing policy among Conservatives was not a Goldsmith policy at all, but Mr Khan’s promise to give “first dibs” to Londoners rather than overseas investors on new flats.

Today’s elections will see major changes on the London Assembly, YouGov’s data reveals.

Nigel Farage’s Ukip look set to make a big breakthrough by gaining three seats on the 25-member body that oversees the Mayor and City Hall.

On a uniform swing Labour would remain the biggest party but their haul of seats would drop from 12 to 10. Labour could gain Croydon & Sutton and Havering & Redbridge from the Conservatives, while losing seats on the Londonwide top-up list.

The Conservatives would go from nine to eight seats while the Greens and the Liberal Democrats would stay on two seats each, assuming an even swing.