07 MayLondon has a new mayor

Posted under: General

5th May 2016. A historic day.

For the first time in British political history, a Pakistani Muslim has been elected the mayor of London. That in itself would have been an achievement in its own right, but to do it in the face of such an acrimonious campaign has been truly remarkable.

Being a student of politics leads to one become cynical of everything and therefore Sadiq Khan is no exception. His four years in office, I predict, will be nothing too remarkable, however, the victory was important.

The Conservatives, led by Lynton Crosby who now vigorously denies any involvement, led a campaign which was more reminiscent of the events leading up to the 1857 mutiny in India rather than a 21st century election campaign in multicultural London. Although it remains unclear as to how much Zac himself was personally involved, the fact that he was the candidate, the buck will stop with him for attempting to divide Londoners down ethnic and religious lines.

What is most interesting is the condemning of the campaign by some Tories after the election results have come out. I wonder if they had said the same things had Zac been elected as mayor, and had the race been much closer as was expected?

In any case, I have never voted Labour at any of the last three general elections since I have earned the right to vote, however, as a matter of pride I voted for Sadiq Khan as my first preference on Thursday and am glad that Londoners overwhelmingly made a similar choice too.

Whatever happens over the next four years and how successful Sadiq is in implementing his policies remains to be seen, however for the time being, Londoners have shown that colonial divide and rule tactics well and truly belong in the dustbin of history.