Ahead of the London Mayoral Elections 2021, Asian Voice spoke to Labour party candidate and Mayor of London, Mr Sadiq Khan about the recent election survey polls, his relationship with the Indian diaspora, bringing IPL to London, his priorities if he wins this election, and his thoughts on his opponent, Shaun Bailey. Here are a few edited excerpts from the Q&A.
Q - You are a senior Labour Party member and the party is believed to have moved away from the Indian diaspora. If you had a choice/chance, how would you bring them back to the fold?
Labour is the party of aspiration, and it is the party that allowed the son of an immigrant bus driver and seamstress to become Mayor of the greatest city in the world. As long as I am a Labour politician I will ensure our party never neglects any of the communities which have helped shape it.
I have always been a Mayor for all Londoners, and the genuine love and affection I feel from the Indian community is humbling. When I visited India the reception I received was nothing short of overwhelming and whenever I visit a mandir here in London, there are people who say they are praying for me; this is the beauty of our city.
As Mayor, I will always stand up for the issues that British Indians care about, from standing up for businesses both big and small, to supporting our NHS and frontline heroes as well as ending the Government’s hostile environment which has caused so much distress to many of our communities.
We need a Mayor in City Hall who will celebrate our Indian diaspora, not someone who believes that multiculturalism would turn London into a ‘crime-riddled cesspool’ and that accommodating Hindus and Muslims ‘robs Britain of its community', as the Tory candidate has said in the past.
Q – You’re considered to be on a path to a big win with a landslide victory in the upcoming elections. Do the results of the recent survey conducted in London resonate with your priorities?
This is an election like no other - taking place during a global pandemic, and we really need Londoners to turn out and vote - by post or socially distanced in person. The Mayoral election on May 6 is a two-horse race between me and the Tory candidate. If you don’t vote, or back any candidate other than me, you only make it more likely that the Tories will win.
Like many others, I have been inspired by the selfless work of our frontline NHS workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are a credit to London and to our nation and we must acknowledge the huge debt we owe them. That’s why I am committed to backing NHS staff and other key workers to be first in the queue for the thousands of new genuinely affordable homes being built across London.
I will also lay the groundwork for fixing the housing crisis once and for all. That's why I am focusing on building on my record delivery of council homes that Londoners can actually afford, rather than luxury penthouse apartments the Tories always prioritise. I will continue to campaign for the rent controls for London’s 2.4 million private renters, and create a City Hall developer so that the GLA will become a direct home builder and help deliver new genuinely affordable housing for Londoners at pace.
Keeping Londoners safe is a top priority and every life lost to violent crime is a senseless tragedy. I’m determined to be tough on crime and its causes. I have invested more than £1bn in crime prevention in our capital – more than any other London Mayor.
Q - Shaun Bailey has said, “Everyone except Sadiq Khan knows that rising crime is the biggest challenge facing London.” How would you like to respond to him?
The Tory candidate truly believes Londoners have forgotten that he was the Government’s Youth and Crime advisor and personally presided over more than £850m in cuts to London’s budget for policing and preventative services. It is these cuts – the direct consequence of more than a decade of austerity - that have caused the rise in violent crime nationwide since 2013.
In stark contrast, I have prioritised neighbourhood policing and managed to deliver on my promise of an extra dedicated officer in every ward in London. I have gone further than any other Mayor in adopting a public health approach to this urgent issue which is tough on crime, but also on the complex causes of crime by working to reduce school exclusions and giving young people constructive things to do.
Unlike the Tory candidate, I have a track record of actually investing in our police – more than £1bn to date – more than any other Mayor, and putting more officers on our streets using every lever in my power to do so.
I refuse to be complacent, but we are seeing key indicators of crime reducing including the number of victims of knife crime with injury under 25 falling by more than a quarter before the pandemic.
Q- It is being said that the 'lack of opposition' is a clear reason why you're going to lead the elections. Do you feel Shaun Bailey is not a worthy opponent?
The Mayoral election on 6 May is a two-horse race between me - who will always up for London - and the Conservative candidate – who is always talking London down. It is the only poll I am concerned about.
Boris Johnson’s candidate is not only clueless about what the role of Mayor entails, he has repeatedly lied to Londoners. He has lied to Londoners about TfL finances, police funding, council tax and the Congestion Charge. He’s continued spreading fake news even after being proved definitively wrong. He’s on a personal mission to run a more dishonest campaign than Zac Goldsmith did in 2016 and to bring Trump-style fake news to London.
My opponent simply does not share London’s values. He’s said terrible things about women, girls, working class communities and multiculturalism including the celebration of unifying festivals like Diwali.
I truly believe that our best days lie ahead and have a vision for building a better, fairer and safe city, that’s why a vote for Labour is a vote for London and a brighter future.
Q - While as an idea IPL sounds really exciting, do you think London is fully equipped to adapt to the new normal (which means being a part of large crowds and gatherings) once the vaccination drive is over?
The absence of live crowds at elite competitions has been hard for many sport-loving Londoners but I know we can build a better, more open and prosperous city after the pandemic and see our capital rise to become the undisputed home of global sport.
The IPL is now considered amongst the foremost sports leagues in the world. In my first term I brought Major League Baseball to London for the first time with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. I also extended the deal with the NFL to guarantee two matches a year in London for the next decade. London hosts the world’s biggest leagues, and the IPL would have a natural home here.
Bringing international superstars like MS Dhoni and Virat Kholi to London will underscore our city’s status as the undisputed sporting capital of the world – a city that can provide a home crowd to every country. It will boost tourism and generate much-needed revenue to help get our capital back on its feet.
Also, given the vast popularity of IPL with our diaspora communities, hosting matches in London would likely attract further Indian investment to our city. It would help build extended ties between our economies and encourage the development of strong and lasting trade and cultural links between London and one of the world’s fastest growing economies – delivering jobs and opportunities for all Londoners.
