As Sadiq Khan increases his lead over Zac Goldsmith in the race to become the next Mayor of London, we ask ourselves, what does he have for African Londoners? Predictions are that Sadiq khan would most likely win.
Polls, pundits and bookmakers are already predicting, the Labour candidate will succeed Boris Johnson following the election come 5 May, while none are doing the same for the only one of his rivals with a realistic chance of beating him, the Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith.
The latest voter survey, by You- Gov for LBC, gave Khan a tenpoint lead over Goldsmith when respondents were invited to pick between just the two of them, an increase of four points from when the same question was last asked towards the end of November.
Back in October, the pair had been neck and neck by that measure. Khan’s backstory cannot be overstated. He is the lawyer son of a bus driver who now represents Tooting, the area he grew up in, as an MP.
He was a loyal Cabinet member under Gordon Brown, and also ran Ed Miliband’s leadership campaign. What could this victory mean? Firstly, London could have the first Muslim Mayor. That would be a striking statement in the context of usual debate about Islam and the Western world.
For arguably the world’s most important city to be led and represented by a politician who just happened to be Muslim would be a powerful argument against extremists (Muslim and non-Muslim) who suggest that Islam and democracy are somehow incompatible. The consequence of his election would be discomforting for people who are nastily intolerant of pluralistic Western societies.
Secondly, being the son of immigrants, Mr Khan would have empathy towards the aspirations of African immigrants in today’s London.
In his acceptance speech at the Labour nomination, he said: “London gave me and my family huge opportunities: a council house so we could save for a deposit to buy our own home, a secure job for my dad as a bus driver, a great education for me and my siblings, affordable university places and good quality apprenticeships. As mayor, I will provide more opportunities for all Londoners.
My priorities for Londoners are clear: an affordable and secure home to rent or buy, more jobs with higher wages for the lowest paid, making it easier to set up and run a successful business, reducing the cost of commuting and making London’s environment safer, healthier and less polluted.”
Finally, Mr Khan has shown in the course of this campaign an understanding of what the migrant community in London faces in their everyday life. He believes that government needs to do more to promote integration; that London can’t simply be allowed to develop naturally any more.
“We’ve got to think a bit more about how we encourage, cajole people into integrating much more” he has said. Housing which is a particular area of concern amongst the African community is also under his radar.
He fears that London is “being hollowed out” and wants all new properties to have to be offered to Londoners before they can be sold to foreigners. He also proposes a London ‘living rent’. This can only be a good thing for most African Londoners.
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