Sadiq Khan has officially launched his campaign to be re-elected Mayor of London for a record third term as he pledged to build 40,000 new council homes by the end of the decade.
The former Tooting MP, who was selected as Labour’s candidate for the 2024 race in late 2022, told a launch event in west London: “London’s housing crisis is not only the biggest challenge facing our city, it is one of the biggest issues of social justice – it has created a generation gap.
Sadiq Khan said he is focused on “public transport that is efficient and reliable and doesn’t break the bank.
“The best at reasonable prices that don’t swallow people’s incomes or leave them at the mercy of dodgy landlords.
“Clean air that doesn’t make you sick or inhibit our children’s lungs. Policies that nurture and nurture our young people, making them more likely to live happy, healthy lives.”
In an apparent nod to Reform UK MP Lee Anderson’s comments about “Islamists”, he added: “London’s diversity is not weakness. It is a formidable strength and it makes London the greatest city on earth.”
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, who also spoke at the campaign launch, told attendees that Sadiq Khan had taken steps to clean air in London and get more police on the streets.
He said: “To people who challenge me on clean air, I say ‘I have two children’. I wouldn’t give them dirty water to drink and I don’t want them to breathe dirty air.”
And he said Khan’s “historic third term” was important for Labor in an election year, adding: “I woke up on January 1 with a smile on my face. Imagine the transformation if we had a Labor mayor working alongside a Labor government.”
Westminster North MP Karen Buck, Khan’s campaign chair, said: “We need Labor in government.
“A possibility that even a couple of years ago we didn’t think was possible… Labor in Westminster local councils, Labor in London with the mayoralty, and we could have a Labor government for the first time in 14 years.”
Sadiq Khan is up against challengers including Conservative candidate and former City Hall Tory group leader Susan Hall, Liberal Democrat hopeful Rob Blackie, Green Party candidate Zoe Garbett and Reform UK’s Howard Cox.
The election, on Thursday 2 May, will be the first time the first-past-the-post system has been used in London, which is expected to bring a closer result and an increase in tactical voting.
It will also require voters to present voter identification at the polling station.
A recent YouGov poll, reported by the Evening Standard, has Sadiq Khan on 49 per cent and Hall on 25 per cent, but key aides fear a “perfect storm” of factors – including anger over ULEZ, could see the Labor politician lose the capital, reported the New Statesman.
In a so-called “love letter” to progressive voters, Khan has appealed to Lib Dem and Greens supporters to support him and avoid making it “more likely” that the Conservatives will win.
Local council elections will be held on the same day, but Premier Rishi Sunak has ruled out a general election being held on that date – despite rampant speculation.
