As the clock struck midnight, in the early hours of Saturday 7 May 2016, history was made in the Western world, as London chose its first ever British Muslim and Asian Labour candidate, Sadiq Khan to become the new Mayor of this city. He emphatically beat his Tory rival Zac Goldsmith, whose campaign was criticised by many as inauthentic and divisive.
Khan lead Goldsmith by a total of 315,529 votes, after the second preference votes were counted and reallocated. He received 1,310,143 votes, higher than for any previous London Mayor. This amounted to 57% of the total final votes to Mr Goldsmith's 43% (994,614 votes). Turnout was 45.6% up from 38% in 2012.
Sadiq has set out his vision for London already, and he promised that he would fight along David Cameron to keep Britain in the European Union, after receiving a call from the PM on Sunday. Senior Cabinet Ministers have vowed to bury their political differences to work with Sadiq Khan but both sides privately agree there are fierce battles ahead over money and priorities. The newly appointed Mayor will attend a secretive Cobra meetings on security “where appropriate”. Ministers are reportedly setting up meetings with the Mayor on policies ranging from transport investment and policies to the newly developed powers to train Londoners in the skills that business need. Employment Minister Priti Patel told Evening Standard, “I take the view that he is elected, he has a large democratic mandate, so we will work constructively with him.”
Khan's campaign team included several experts from various fields, including names like Rajesh Agrawal, CEO and Founding Director of Rational FX. Ex-Labour transport secretary Andrew Adonis is tipped to become Sadiq Khan's first big appointment at City Hall. He is expected to become the Deputy Mayor for transport with bringing in Mr Khan's four year fares freeze and cutting Transport costs.
Early Life
Khan, one of the 8 children born to Pakistani immigrants, a bus driver and seamstress in London, grew up in a Council estate at Earlsfield, south-west London, sharing a bunkbed with one of his brothers until he left home in his 20s. He later became a successful human rights lawyer, before joining politics and becoming a MP. His parents' story holds real significance for him. Amanullah and Sehrun Khan emigrated from Pakistan to London shortly before Sadiq was born, in 1970.
He has often said that his early impressions of the world of work shaped his belief in the trade union movement. His father, a bus driver for 25 years, "was in a union and got decent pay and conditions" whereas his mum, a stay-at-home seamstress, "wasn't, and didn't".
He had met his wife Saadiya Ahmed in 1994, a fellow solicitor and coincidentally the daughter of a bus driver – whom he married and with whom he went on to have two daughters Anisah and Ammarah- describing himself as a 'metrosexual dad'. He also then began his 12-year stint as a councillor for Tooting, encouraged by Guyanan-born local activist Bert Luthers, followed by becoming a successful MP and serving in several important roles.
Significance of Khan's victory
Khan's election as a leader of one of Europe's major cities signalled a broad acceptance by voters of London's racial and religious diversity just months after jihadi terrorists attacked Paris and Brussles. Sajid Javid, the Conservative Business Secretary congratulated Khan on twitter saying “from one son of a Pakistani bus driver to another.”
Barack Obama's press secretary sent his congratulations to the new Mayor, calling the election 'historic'. It is believed Khan is planning to reciprocate the gesture by visiting the US soon, just in case Trump gets elected as the President of the country in the upcoming elections.
Sadiq had accepted during his campaign that he had associated with some unsavoury individuals, a number of whom he represented as a lawyer, though strongly denied harbouring any empathy for Islamists. He openly proclaimed his Muslim faith and declared that 'he was the British Muslim who will take the fight to extremists.” However some critics have pointed out that Khan's association with these fundamentals was allegedly to gain vote and not in the capacity of a lawyer.
Now the victory of Sadiq Khan in this day and era has some great significance. It is that 'underdog story' that people have grown up watching on silver screen. Nobody expected London to go beyond race, colour, class and creed to choose its first ever British Asian Mayor from a humble background and start, unlike Etonian Boris Johnson. However during election Khan's religion appeared to be incidental to Londoners. One in eight Londoners are Muslim, 35% born abroad, and 300 languages are spoken across the city. Those classified as 'white British' make up only 45% of the population.
Second, the regressive Left in Sadiq Khan’s Labour Party, and the Populist Right among Trump’s Republicans and Zac Goldsmith's campaign troupe have made Islam a hot topic. The only way Islam will cease being an issue is when everyone, Muslim or not, is deemed to share the same rights, and is held to the very same liberal expectations. The victory of London’s new mayor as a non-Islamist Muslim is as much a blow to Islamist bigots as it is to anti-Muslim bigots. This victory speaks to the possibilities of integration. It offers hope for our country’s new immigrant families. And as a symbol of social mobility, it provides aspiration to those from humble backgrounds.
Third Sadiq Khan’s victory is probably the only bit of good news Jeremy Corbyn’s far-left-led Labour Party can truly celebrate this weekend. And celebrate they should. Democracy has spoken.
Although Labour's council election results were better than many had predicted and leader Jeremy Corbyn was pleased that Labour hung on to many of its councils in England, the results did very little to calm criticism. Labour party was relegated to third place in Scotland and lost ground in Wales, where it remains the largest party.
Khan v/s Corbyn
While the new London Mayor visited the holocaust remembrance service- as the first engagement in his official post, he attacked party's approach suggesting that the party must stop talking to itself and appeal to Conservative voters or it will lose the general elections in 2020.
He warned that appealing to "natural Labour voters" alone would not be enough to secure success at a general election.
Asked on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show whether he owed some of his election victory to Corbyn, Khan replied: "Success has many parents and I think what's important is the victory on Thursday was a victory for London because what it showed was London chose hope over fear and unity over division.
"My point is very simple, we've got to stop talking about ourselves and start talking to citizens about the issues that matter to them."
Corbyn was notably absent from the ceremony on Saturday which saw Mr Khan signed in as mayor - an event attended by previous Labour leader Ed Miliband at the Southwark Cathedral.
Khan used an Observer article setting out the lessons from his campaign to issue a clear message to the Labour leader that the party needed to broaden its appeal and reach out to Tory voters.
Khan who had nominated Corbyn for leader, has increasingly distanced himself from him, some say to win the moderate votes.He apparently refused to endorse the party's local election posters, and said that "it should never be about 'picking sides'" - strikingly similar language to the "Elections are about taking sides" slogan used on the party's posters in the local election campaign.
Asked if he was directly attacking Corbyn's campaign strategy, Khan said: "My point is this. I want a big tent, you know, whether you're a Conservative trying to be the mayor of London, or a Labour Party trying to form the next government, we've got to speak to everyone.
"There's no point in us just speaking to Labour voters, our core vote."
Corbyn, who travelled to Bristol to celebrate with that city's new mayor Marvin Rees rather than attend Khan's ceremonial event, has insisted the pair are "getting on fine".
Khan's stance immediately raised spirits among some moderate Labour MPs, who argue that Khan could act as a centrist counterweight to the party leadership.
The British Hindu community that has been a forever vote bank for the Labour party, has also taken a stand against the Labour leader. Corbyn had signed an EDM 479 to have a permanent ban on India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come to England, which the community is demanding Corbyn to apologise for and retrieve. Modi, who is popular among many Indians (1.2mn in Britain) visited London last year November. However after many correspondences from the angry Hindu voters, not a word of regret has been heard back from the leader as yet- let alone a response or acknowledgement.
Khan's pledges and probable challenges
EU Referendum: The Mayor has revealed that he will be working with the Prime Minister to win the EU Referendum. In a report by the Evening Standard, the Mayor revealed that Mr Cameron was worried about the turn-out and had accepted the influence of his victory to ensure Londoners vote to remain in.
Police: Appoint an independent figure to review the emergency services' capacity to deal with a major incident. He met MET chief Sir Bernard Hogan Howe and fire services Chief. In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, he had told us that he would ensure the number of ethnic representation in police goes up, so that it reflects the true nature of diversity in the community. He is especially keen to engage the South Asian community- though the practical challenges of it are yet unknown.
He also reassures businesses that he would pack his new advisory board with experts rather than 'political cronies' and lead trade missions overseas.
Affordable housing: Khan has promised to bring together London's councils- including Tory ones with housing associations and developers to tackle housing crisis. The FT reported that a consensus emerged in the election campaign that housing had become the biggest problem facing London.
Khan’s big manifesto pledge was that half of new housing construction in London should be affordable to people on average incomes. He also promised that a Londoner will be offered the housing first and only then the contractors coud open it up for foreign buyers or investors.
But Khan may find solving London’s housing problems difficult. According to a report by the Centre for London think-tank: “The development of new housing in a city like London is a remarkably complex business. It typically involves partnership of an array of private companies, public and third sector bodies, the coming-together of a range of skills — including planning, finance, design, and community engagement — and the pooling of resources in the form of land and finance.”
Transport fares: Another flagship promise of freezing transport fares for four years was popular with voters, according to polls. Now Khan has to achieve this at a time when the government is phasing out £700m a year in subsidies for transport in London, and demand is growing rapidly.
He used to support the third runway in Heathrow- but now opposes it and chooses 'Promentum' (Progress+Momentum) over the warring Labour party.
Getting money from George Osborne: Unlike in other big cities, the Mayor of London is dependent on central government for money, making Khan’s relationship with George Osborne, the chancellor, a crucial one. Khan of course has to strike a relationship with the Chancellor, who may be running for election as the Premier when the Mayor seeks election in 2020. A Cabinet ally of Mr Osborne reportedly said “I doubt it will be a big problem as long as he does not declare war on the government.”
Quick bio of Sadiq Khan
- Born in Tooting, south London in 1970 to Pakistani immigrant parents
- Grew up on a housing estate, one of eight children, his father a bus driver
- His two daughters went to the same primary school as him
- Has lived his whole life in Tooting, the constituency he has represented since 2005
- Previously worked as a human rights lawyer
- Served as communities minister and then transport minister under Gordon Brown, making him the first Muslim to attend Cabinet.
- He was sworn in as a member of the Privy council which advises the Queen, using his own copy of Koran rather a Bible because Buckingham Palace did not have one.
- Was Labour's shadow justice secretary under Ed Miliband
Tooting By-Election
A By-Election will be held in Sadiq Khan's Tooting constituency on June 2 or 9, Labour sources have revealed. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn plans to rush forward the contest to benefit from any honeymoon effect of the new Mayor's victory. Left winger George Galloway has hinted he may stand. Other possible Labour candidates include Rex Osborne, Simon Hogg, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan and Jasvir Singh, Chair of City Sikhs Network.
A barrister by profession, chair of two London based charities, an occasional columnist in asian Voice and a passionate believer of change, Jas has lived in South London for the last ten years. He said, “Tooting has a special place in my heart, with close family and friends living there. My local place of worship is on Upper Tooting Road, and as a family law barrister with a decade of experience, I’ve represented many Tooting residents over the years."
Jasvir's beginnings were very humble too. His parents both worked in factories. "My dad still does, and I get my strong work ethic from him. My mum worked for Remploy until it closed 4 years ago. People who were made redundant by the closure are still feeling that loss of an inclusive, supportive and disabled-friendly place of work. My aunt is on a ‘zero hours’ contract, and my cousins are struggling to get on the property ladder...Labour values are my life...
“I was lucky to become a barrister with just my parents to back me. I didn’t know any lawyers growing up, and I had no contacts to turn to. It wasn’t easy, but I know that working class children today find it much tougher than I did. Everyone deserves the same opportunities in life, rich or poor, black or white, and that belief is what drives me.
“As MP for Tooting, my constituents will always come first, and I won’t be afraid to stand up to anyone to get the best for Tooting.”
