Sadiq Khan

Speaker: Justin Ratcliffe (Standard British accent)

Sadiq Khan, 45, is a man in the news at the moment. In May he became the new mayor of London. He is the son of Pakistani immigrants and he is a Muslim. He is the first Muslim mayor of a major western city, or at least a major city in Europe. Calgary in Canada and Rotterdam in the Netherlands also have Muslim mayors, but they are smaller. Observers hope that the election of a Muslim mayor in London will be a positive sign at a time when Islamophobia, racism and xenophobia are increasing.

A NEW JOB

The mayor of London is a relatively new job. The first mayor of London was elected in 2000. Before then the British capital’s number one citizen was “the leader of the Greater London Council,” or “GLC.” Sadiq Khan is London’s third mayor. His two predecessors were certainly colourful characters. The first London mayor was Ken Livingstone, a left-wing Labour Party politician whose nickname was “Red Ken.” In 2008 another eccentric, the Conservative Boris Johnson, succeeded him.

ZAC

Sadiq Khan is probably a less colourful  character, and this is a good thing. Like Ken Livingstone, he is a member of the Labour Party, but he is more moderate. Last year he supported Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign to become leader of the Party, but he kept his distance from him during his campaign to become mayor. Corbyn is very left-wing, and Khan didn’t want to alienate moderate voters. It was an effective strategy and he won easily against his Conservative opponent, Zac Goldsmith.

RICH MAN, POOR MAN

Goldsmith is the son of the late billionaire tycoon, Sir James Goldsmith. Khan’s background is very different. He grew up in South London, in the district of Tooting. His father was a bus driver. Goldsmith, like Boris Johnson and David Cameron, went to Eton, Britain’s most exclusive private school: Khan went to a local state “comprehensive.” He wanted to become dentist but a teacher suggested he became a lawyer, because he was “argumentative.”  After studying law at university he worked as a solicitor before entering politics. He later became the Member of Parliament for Tooting.
Khan certainly faces many challenges as mayor. London has become a city of the rich. In his manifesto Khan said that the housing crisis was his “first priority.”  He also said: “London is the greatest city in the world. But we are at a crossroads.”