Sadiq Khan has officially launched his campaign to be re-elected as 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 isn’t just the greatest challenge facing our city, one of the biggest social justice issues – it’s created a generational divide.
Sadiq Khan said he is focused on “public transport that’s efficient and reliable and doesn’t break the bank.
“Affordable housing that doesn’t swallow up people’s incomes or leave them at the mercy of dodgy landlords.
“Clean air that doesn’t make you sick or stunt our children’s lungs. Policies that nurture and nourish our young people, increasing the likelihood of living happy, healthy lives.”
In an apparent nod to Reform UK MP Lee Anderson’s comments about “Islamists”, he added: “London’s diversity isn’t weakness. It’s a formidable strength and it makes London the greatest city on earth.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who also spoke at the campaign launch, told attendees Sadiq Khan had taken action on clean air in London and getting more police on the streets.
He said: “To people who challenge me on clean air, I say ‘I’ve got 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 to Labour in a general election year, adding: “I woke up on January 1 with a smile on my face. Imagine the transformation if we had a Labour mayor working alongside a Labour government.”
Westminster North MP Karen Buck, Khan’s campaign chairman, said: “We need Labour in government.
“An opportunity that even a couple of years ago we wouldn’t have thought possible… Labour in Westminster local council, Labour in London with the mayoralty, and we could have a Labour government for the first time in 14 years.”
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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, May 2, will be the first time the first-past-the-post system is used in London, which is expected to deliver a closer result and an increase in tactical voting.
It will also require voters to present voter ID at the polling station.
According to a recent YouGov poll, reported by the Evening Standard, Sadiq Khan is 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 Labour politician lose the capital, the New Statesman reported.
In a so-called ‘love letter’ pitch to progressive voters, Khan has issued a plea for Lib Dem and Green supporters to back him and avoid making it “more likely” the Conservatives win.
Local council elections will be held on the same day but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ruled out holding a general election on that date – despite rampant speculation.