About 6 million Londoners are voting to elect new mayor . Role largely ceremonial but mayor controls $ 23 billion budget . The same has been said for Ken , but the price of celebrity is that if it fades , a politician 's appeal fades , too . '' Front-runners are incumbent Conservative Boris Johnson and Labour 's Ken Livingstone . Comment:
About 6 million Londoners are voting to elect new mayor . Role largely ceremonial but mayor controls $ 23 billion budget . Front-runners are incumbent Conservative Boris Johnson and Labour 's Ken Livingstone . Comment: