When Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory electrified New York City, it sent ripples far beyond America’s shores all the way to London’s mayor Sadiq Khan.
No stranger to political storms, Khan said Mamdani’s win had given him hope. “New Yorkers faced a clear choice between hope and fear, and just like we’ve seen in London, hope won,” he declared.
For Khan, that victory carried personal resonance. For years, both London and its mayor have been invoked by right-wing commentators in the United States as a cautionary tale. Figures such as former Trump adviser Steve Bannon repeatedly painted London under Khan as a “disaster of multiculturalism.” Donald Trump himself went further, calling him “a stone-cold loser” and “London’s biggest disaster” and frequently citing Khan as an example of the chaos he claimed liberal governance produced, warning New Yorkers not to “end up like London.”
A tale of two progressive mayors
Now, with Mamdani’s win, Khan sees the narrative turning on its head. “In recent years, there’s been a growing chorus of commentators and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic attacking London and New York for their liberal values,” Khan told The Guardian. “They paint a picture of a lawless dystopia to sow fear and division. But ask most Londoners or New Yorkers, and that narrative simply falls flat.”
Khan and Mamdani, both embody the plural, metropolitan politics that their critics dismiss and both have made affordability, transport reform, and social equity central to their platforms.
Their similarities go beyond policy, they share a worldview. Khan represents the “soft-left” tradition within Labour; Mamdani, a democratic socialist, channels a bolder challenge to establishment politics. What binds them is a conviction that diversity is strength, and that cities must stand as beacons of tolerance and justice.
“It’s never been more crucial for our cities to challenge those who weaponise our diversity,” Khan said. “No matter who you are, or where your family comes from, you can achieve anything. In our cities, hope and unity will always triumph over fear and division.”
Reframing the debate: From immigration to inequality
According to Prof Yunas Samad, Emeritus Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Bradford,
two global cities being led by South Asian Muslims is significant, because “Muslims have been particularly painted as being against Western societies and values,
unwilling to contribute or integrate. And here they are taking up leadership roles of very mixed societies, and obviously are trying to make some kind of contribution.
So how important is this win for the UK? “Quite important” according to Prof Samad because developments in the United States inevitably ripple across Europe. He sees the win as a potential “reversal” of a broader narrative that has dominated politics on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly around immigration. “In the UK, the debate has been shaped by the idea that controlling immigration is the key to solving national problems,” Samad notes. “Mamdani, however, reframes that conversation. He’s saying, in effect, that the real issue isn’t immigration; it’s inequality.”
That message, Prof Samad argues, has wide appeal because inequality affects everyone, not just minorities. “None of the major parties here or in the US have confronted inequality directly, and Mamdani’s victory forces that discussion back into the mainstream,” he adds. Without such a shift, he warns, Western politics risks being swept further rightward.
Beyond policy, Samad highlights what Mamdani’s win represents symbolically: “It challenges old stereotypes about immigrants that they live apart, don’t mix, or don’t contribute. In reality, they build, lead, and strengthen societies.”
On the other hand, Dr Kalpana Wilson , Senior Lecturer, International Development at Birkbeck, University of London describes Mamdani’s win as heartening amid rising far-right movements globally. She said, “It's a time when we in Britain are facing rising racist attacks, including the recent horrific cases of rape in the West Midlands, enabled not only by the far-right parties like Reform, but the Starmer government's relentless anti-migrant rhetoric.
“Mamdani's campaign was inspiring because he showed that a left candidate with a clear economic agenda and policies like rent freezes, free transport and affordable childcare has a massive appeal to ordinary people who are really struggling with the economic status quo which only further enriches corporates and billionaires.” Mamdani also proudly embraced his identity as a Muslim, migrant, and South Asian, and publicly supported Palestinian rights, gaining wide community support.
She further added that despite facing attacks from far-right and Hindutva-aligned groups, he secured a historic victory. Wilson said that the win should inspire progressives in Britain and South Asian diaspora communities to build solidarity and champion inclusive, left-leaning politics.
A possible turning point
So, could Mamdani’s victory act as a balancing force, one that steers politics, even slightly, away from the growing dominance of the right wing? “It’s a hopeful sign,” says Prof Samad, “though we shouldn’t get triumphalistic about it.”
He cautions that powerful vested interests continue to rally around Donald Trump and the broader right-wing movement, which has gained immense amplification through social media. “So yes, there’s still a significant uphill battle ahead,” he adds.
Still, Mamdani’s win, he believes, could mark a turning point, a moment to redirect political discourse toward progressive issues that affect everyone: inequality, fairness, and shared opportunity. “We should be highlighting the contributions of minorities, not treating them as problems to be managed.”
Asked whether this victory could influence global political strategy, Prof Samad observes, “People are quick to learn and emulate. Many mainstream parties have been borrowing from the right, trying to neutralise its appeal. But now we’re seeing that an alternative narrative is possible, one based on inclusion and equity rather than fear and division.”
He notes, however, that real change will take time. “Even within the Democratic Party, there’s resistance to figures like Mamdani. So while this is promising, it’s only the beginning of a longer global shift.”
