ONE of the highlights for Sadiq Khan, was the opening of the Elizabeth line on the city’s underground. It was named after the late queen, and the London mayor revealed how they got her open it.
“We managed to negotiate with Buckingham Palace, that after a long period of illness, Queen Elizabeth would come to Paddington for the opening. There were secret squirrel negotiations because we couldn’t let anybody know. But because of her ill health, there was still a possibility that she wouldn't be well enough. So, we organised a trip to minimise the steps the Queen would have to take, and an hour before the opening we got the phone call to say she was definitely coming.
“She's somebody who has opened other parts of the underground in previous years. So, she had a personal commitment, and of course, the line’s named after her so that opening was really special. And the Elizabeth line is a remarkable piece of engineering, as you know, it contributes 40 billion pounds towards our economy, 10 brand new stations for London, going from the east to west, going from Reading into central London, so I'm really proud of that big high seeing her majesty there.”
That was not all, he told the GG2 Power List.
“That was followed by the big high of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The privilege I felt to be asked to sit in the royal box, my hairs stand up even now when I think about my parents’ journey to this country, that their boy would be in the royal box for the Platinum Jubilee and what the queen meant to us.”
Khan said that other highlights included reducing violent crime in London, getting a deal with the government for Transport for London, and cutting air pollution in the city. The bad was the queen passing away. So what was the ugly?
“The ugly side was that we had three prime ministers in the last year. We became a laughingstock. A lettuce outlived our prime minister Liz Truss who lasted 45 days. [Boris] Johnson's dishonesty has been exposed, his law breaking being exposed, his condoning predatory behaviour from his MP being exposed.
“But it ended in a nice way. I'm incredibly proud that Rishi [Sunak] is prime minister. This is genuinely a source of pride to me that an Asian boy is the prime minister. This is above party politics because it shows how much our country's progressed that we've got an Asian prime minister. Of course, he's Conservative, but some things are bigger than party politics, and that for me was also really important.”
In February 2022, Sadiq Khan unleashed a political storm. As the police and crime commissioner for London, he put the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, ‘on notice’. In doing so, he made the tough judgement call that other leaders refused to do. Khan spoke for most Londoners, and even though it is the home secretary who hires and fires the Met commissioner, it was enough for Scotland Yard’s first female boss to know she had no choice but to resign.
The then home secretary, Priti Patel, asked Sir Tom Winsor, then-chief inspector of constabulary, to investigate the circumstances surrounding Dick's resignation. Sir Tom concluded that Khan did not follow "due process" when he withdrew his support. The mayor remains bullish that he did the right thing.
“I feel vindicated,” a bullish mayor told the Power List. “It's no consolation to me to say I told you so. Here's the position. I was the guy by myself, pointing out systemic cultural issues in the police service. I've spent my entire career both as a lawyer, parliamentarian, and as the mayor tackling discrimination, being anti racist, anti-sexist, and so forth. For the last few years, I was criticised for pointing out the real problems we had in London from stop and search to the way black officers have been treated, the way women are being treated. I was unhappy with the fact that the former commissioner wasn't addressing the systemic cultural issues, didn't have a plan to deal with that, or a plan to win back trust and confidence.
“But I appreciate that I live in a world of party politics. So, a Conservative home secretary appointed a Conservative sympathizer who was friends with the former commissioner, to do a political hatchet job. I don't resile at all from my decision to lose confidence in the former commissioner, but also it's meant that we've now appointed a reforming commissioner in London. We’re ahead of the country in shining a light on some of these issues and making progress ahead of the country. So, it's only by being strong, being firm, being bold, taking a lead, that we've got to where we are.”
Sticking up for people is nothing new for the London mayor.
“The first time I met Sadiq Khan was in 2003,” remembers Barnie Choudhury, former BBC social affairs correspondent. “His firm, Christian Khan, was advising the National Black Police Association in a case involving a senior Metropolitan police officer.
“We needed to get to the Old Bailey, and I suggested we jump in a cab. He was having none of it. ‘My dad was a bus driver, if the bus was good for him then it’s good enough for me. We’re catching the bus’, and we did.’”
If you need a story which sums up Khan, it is that. Working class roots – check. Public service – check. Fighting for underdogs – check. Khan was a human rights lawyer, and he won many a famous case.
In 2022, on 14 August, Pakistan’s Independence Day, Khan was honoured with the Sitara-e-Pakistan [Star of Pakistan] for his achievements. That is quite an achievement for the son of a bus driver. Khan lived with his parents, who emigrated from Pakistan before he was born, in a three-bedroom house on the Henry Prince Estate in Earlsfield, south-west London. It was a cramped home, sharing it with his seven siblings – he is the fifth of eight. Indeed, the house was so constricted, he shared a bunk bed with one of his brothers until he left home in his 20s. Khan also tells the story of how he faced racism when going to football matches in London, so much so he decided to watch games from home and became a Liverpool supporter.
“One of the things that I've done throughout my career, both as a lawyer and as a politician, is not to talk too much about some of the racism and Islamophobia I face. Why? Because I don't want a young person thinking about a career in politics or in public life to be put off by some of the stuff that I go through. But what I'd remind your readers is, for every nasty tweet, nasty abuse you see from somebody, there are literally dozens and dozens and dozens of well wishes and people who are willing to support us, and we have made huge progress. And there's a reason why people try to bully me and try and stifle me, because they don't like us and what we're trying to do.”
Khan did well at school, and he loved football, boxing and cricket, even having a trial for Surrey County Cricket Club as a teenager. Like many south Asians, he studied maths and science at A-level, thinking he would enter dentistry. That was until one of his teachers recognised that his propensity to argue could be turned into an attribute in the courtroom. Khan tells the story in other interviews of how the American TV drama, LA Law, starring Jimmy Smits as Victor Sifuentes, a charismatic partner in a California law firm, was also responsible for the switch. That ability to use arguments to change lives appears to run through every aspect of his professional life.
“We're seeing this now from people who have different values to ours. But you know, just like around the world, you've seen in the recent past the rise of nativist populist movements, the extreme far right, and those who try and push the politics of division and hatred and fear. But there are also movements across the globe of hope, optimism and unity. I'm hoping that people continue to have a hopeful message and vision. I'll take it in my stride; I will not let anybody bully me or knock me off. And I am so grateful for the continual support your readers give me.”
In 2022, Khan faced a delayed mayoral election. During the previous campaign, the Conservatives were criticised for running, what some described as, a racist and Islamophobic election. This time, the Tories chose a former youth worker, Shaun Bailey to take on the Labour mayor. Bailey was an adviser for, and preferred candidate of, ex-prime minister, David Cameron. Bailey lost. So, would Khan consider running for an unprecedented third term?
“I’m only a fifth of the way through my tenure, and I’ll seek a third term,” he told the Power List. I'm looking forward to the election. I love campaigning, so I can't wait to get back on the campaign but it’s some time away. So, the focus in the short term is delivery. Helping Londoners deal with the cost-of-living crisis, supporting Kier Starmer [Labour leader], Rachel Reeves [shadow chancellor] and the national party, and then looking forward to the campaign to win a historic third term. I know it's never been done before. I know that it's a tough task. But you know, all the best things are tough, and it's a challenge I'm relishing.”
In unconfirmed reports, former Conservative chancellor, Sajid Javid, is said to have congratulated Khan on his 2016 victory with the words, “from one son of a Pakistani bus driver to another”. Again, unconfirmed, Khan is said to have quipped, “You wait ages for a Pakistani bus driver's son to come along, then two come along at once.”
Few people realise that Khan was once a stand-up comedian, but for him his current role is deadly serious. And he is quite clear that his upbringing plays a part in everything he does.
“The message we were taught growing up is go to work but work twice as hard to be considered half as good. Turn the other cheek, don't get into trouble. You know, it's really important that we realise that we stand on their shoulders, sacrifices they made, including the founder of AMG, who we remember in our thoughts and prayers.
“This is our country. We're not going anywhere else, and it's really important that we lay down roots in this country. One of the great things about the Power List, that's prepared by AMG and Eastern Eye, is that it celebrates success. It recognises that we are three dimensional. Yes, we are Londoners, we are British, we are of Asian origin, of Islamic faith or Hindu faith or Sikh faith. We could be sons of bus drivers or could be politicians. But the great thing is whether you are in medicine, in journalism, in business, in politics, we are beacons for people around the world. So, I'm really hopeful for the future. I make sure that I remind myself, of the lessons from my parents, from my teachers, and the great thing is I surround myself with positive role models. I'm really proud to be standing on the shoulders of giants.”
For the moment Khan is firmly fixed on serving Londoners. Diminutive in size, maybe, but a giant and pioneer among south Asians and Londoners, his opponents have always underestimated Khan, forgotten he is a pugilist, and only realise too late when the gloves eventually come off.
