MAYOR OF LONDON Sadiq Khan has discussed the many challenges his first year in office has brought – including why he thinks he has incensed President Donald Trump.
In the aftermath of the London terror attacks, Trump responded by attacking Khan for saying that ‘Londoners should not be worried’ about the increased police presence on streets.
“At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed’!” Trump tweeted, which seemed to take Khan’s comments out of context.
Speaking to the Guardian, Khan said that if the President’s problem is that he’s a Muslim, ‘it says more about Trump than it does about him’:
Look, it’s perfectly possible to be an American or a Brit and a Muslim. They are not mutually exclusive, and for anybody to think that – I can’t understand it, not for people who hold important power.
It’s one of the many challenges that Khan has faced as mayor – and probably the least important.
The beginning of Khan’s term in office was dominated by Brexit. In the run up to the June 2016 vote, Khan had debated passionately for remaining in the EU, including one late-night appearance during which he was observing Ramadan and hadn’t eaten for hours.
Since then he’s seen London respond to terror attacks at Westminster Bridge, Borough Market and a London mosque which has led to an increased police presence on the city’s streets.
It marks a distinctive contrast to his predecessor Boris Johnson’s term in office, which was marked with jokes and gaffes (that Johnson hasn’t completely abandoned).
In response to what he’s done in the past 14 months, Khan says: “First, you get the information out there, so we’ve published the air quality reports that Boris hid away.”
You educate London, in a non-patronising way, about what the air quality implications are: that more than 9,000 people die prematurely, that children have smaller lungs because of poor air quality. So we’re changing public opinion.
“Already, in 14 months, we’ve improved the air on Oxford Street. How? By getting rid of the most polluting buses.”
The former Labour MP also claimed that his party could reverse Brexit, and would win if there were another election today under Corbyn’s stewardship.
Don’t forget, he is comfortable with people. You get what you see, and you see what you get.
Khan, who previously called for the party to ditch Corbyn as leader, says he’s learned an important lesson from the politician who won over swathes of young voters in this year’s snap election:
“Be who you are. What Jeremy has proved is the famous West Wing phrase, ‘Let Bartlet be Bartlet’.”
On the issue of Grenfell Tower disaster, Khan council authorities were accused by locals of abandoning residents in substandard accommodation. He says he doesn’t think there was anything he could have done to prevent the disaster.
One question to ask yourself is, am I doing this to make myself feel better, to look better on TV or whatever? And the second question is, how can I help the residents on the ground?
Despite worrying about the growing number of hate crimes in a post-Brexit UK, and a public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire looming, Khan says he loves his job and wants another six terms as Mayor of London.
“I’ve been blessed – every job I’ve had I’ve loved, whether it’s as a lawyer, MP, cabinet minister… But I’m not going to pretend otherwise: I love this job more than any of them.”
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