Consolation for Labor as Sadiq Khan Is Re-elected London Mayor
London: Sadiq Khan has been re-elected London mayor as had been widely expected, providing some joy to the opposition Labor Party which has suffered a series of disappointing results in other local elections.
Khan, who became the first Muslim to head a major Western capital after his victory in 2016, saw off his main challenger, Shaun Bailey, the candidate from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party.
But reeling from a poor showing in the local elections and the overwhelming loss of a once safe parliamentary seat, a party source confirmed Labor had sacked its chair and campaign coordinator.
Khan won London by 55.2 per cent to Bailey’s 44.8 per cent in a result which had been widely predicted, although his winning margin was smaller than his victory five years ago.
“I am deeply humbled by the trust Londoners have placed in me to continue leading the greatest city on earth,” Khan said, who focused his campaign on creating jobs and boosting London’s tourism economy.
“I promise to strain every sinew to help build a better and brighter future for London after the dark days of the pandemic.”
Khan, a former member of parliament who replaced Johnson as leader of the British capital with a population of almost 9 million people, has faced criticism over rising violent crime in the capital, particularly stabbings involving teenagers.
His record on the issue and other security issues led to a series of angry Twitter spats with former US President Donald Trump.
Khan’s success comes after a bruising set of results for Labor in local elections in its former heartlands in central and northern England – known as the party’s “Red Wall” – which followed a disastrous performance in the 2019 national vote.
While Johnson has enjoyed wide success elsewhere in England, the opposition party has become increasingly dominant in the British capital.
Analysts attribute this to the city’s younger, more ethnically-diverse and more pro-European Union population, which unlike most of England, overwhelmingly opposed Brexit.
Results from Thursday’s elections have seen some 300 Labor councilors losing seats on English councils on top of defeat in Hartlepool, a once unthinkable victory for Johnson’s Conservatives.
Labor leader Keir Starmer, who has struggled to revive his party’s fortunes since a disastrous national election in 2019, had said he was bitterly disappointed and would take responsibility for fixing the situation.
His first major step was to remove Angela Rayner, who is Labor’s deputy leader, from her role as chair of the party and its campaign chief.
“Keir said he was taking full responsibility for the result of the elections - and he said we need to change,” a Labor source said. “That means change how we run our campaigns in the future. Angela will continue to play a senior role in Keir’s team.” - Reuters
