Mornington Crescent residents looked decidedly non-plussed by the arrival of London mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone on Tuesday.

Stopping off on his campaign trail, there was none of the fanfare and pomp that accompanied rival Boris Johnson later that day in Finchley Road.

Instead, the Labour hopeful unobtrusively gave an interview to BBC London while sitting outside a coffee shop in Eversholt Street, Camden Town.

Dozens of people walked by – not realising that the man who could go on to regain London’s most important job was in their midst.

Mr Livingstone sounded decidedly optimistic in spite of opinion polls predictions that Mr Johnson will win.

“I think it’s brilliant,” he said. “You have not had a move like this since the 1966 Labour landslide. We have had massive promises to vote Labour. It’s difficult to believe the polls.”

This view was shared by one enthusiastic supporter, who pledged his support to the Labour candidate with a bizarre comment aimed at Boris.

With his faithful golden Labrador Coco by his side, Mr Livingstone reiterated some of his key manifesto pledges, including his popular proposal to cut tube fares by seven per cent and “put �276million back in the hands of Londoners”. He claimed that the average Londoner would be �1,000 better off over four years under his leadership.

He pledged commitment to improve conditions for cyclists by redesigning road junctions to make them safer and creating more dedicated cycle lanes.

He also promised to make London’s streets safer. “Police numbers have fallen by 2,100 even though we are weeks away from the Olympics,” he said. “I plan to reverse the numbers that have been lost.”