London’s new mayor Sadiq Khan: immigrant son’s rise from public housing estate to city hall
The 45-year-old, a former human rights lawyer and an opposition Labour lawmaker, was swept into City Hall on 57 per cent of the vote, becoming the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital in the process
London’s new mayor Sadiq Khan has gone from a public housing estate in the British capital to running the city, a remarkable rise for the Pakistani immigrant bus driver’s son.
The 45-year-old, a former human rights lawyer and an opposition Labour lawmaker, was swept into City Hall on 57 per cent of the vote, becoming the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital in the process.
After a campaign that saw his main rival try to establish links between Khan and Islamist extremists, the mayor now faces the task of bringing London’s diverse communities together to keep it on its perch as a top world city.
In his acceptance speech, Khan promised to be a “mayor for all Londoners” and said his late father, who emigrated from Pakistan in the 1960s, would be “so proud”.
“I never dreamed that someone like me could be elected as mayor of London. And I want to say thank you to every single Londoner for making the impossible possible today,” he said.
He promised to work to provide more affordable housing and transport, to reduce pollution and encourage more and better paid jobs.