Sir Sadiq Khan has said he does intend to run for a fourth term as Mayor of London. The Mayor ruled out a return to Westminster politics after the next election in 2028 and insisted he has “the best job in politics”.
By Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter
Sir Sadiq Khan has said he does intend to run for a fourth term as Mayor of London. The Mayor ruled out a return to Westminster politics after the next election in 2028 and insisted he has “the best job in politics”.
There have been questions over whether Sir Sadiq, first elected in 2016, would stand again in three years’ time. Earlier today (Friday, September 26) he was asked whether he would “do a Burnham” and potentially follow in the footsteps of the Mayor of Greater Manchester who is reportedly seeking a return to the House of Commons.
Sir Sadiq told LBC Radio: “I have the best job in politics, there’s no way I would give this up for another job in politics.
“Londoners have lent me their votes on three occasions, and as long as I continue to feel I can deliver for this great city of ours, I’ll carry on being the Mayor. I have no intentions of leaving this job.”
When asked definitively if he will run again in 2028, he said it was his “intention” to, adding: “I’ve given no indication that I’m not [running]. At this stage last time, I hadn’t declared one way or the other, so I’m not quite clear why people are drawing conclusions this time.”
His team’s previous lack of conviction on the issue has prompted questions over who will be Labour’s next candidate in London in 2028. Brent East MP Dawn Butler has already indicated she would “love” to go for the role “once there’s a vacancy”.
She told The Mirror last month: “Just having London the way I have experienced it and seen it and just making London wonderful for everyone and everyone being proud of London and being a Londoner… yeah, I’d love to be Mayor of London.”
While Ms Butler is the first MP to make her intentions known publicly, a number of other MPs, including Rosena Allin-Khan and Florence Eshalomi, a former London Assembly Member, are said to be monitoring the situation. Actor and knife crime campaigner Idris Elba is also thought to be interested.
In recent months sources close to the Mayor suggested he had not made a decision yet on whether to stand in the 2028 election, which will see a return to the supplementary vote system after the 2024 vote was held under first-past-the-post rules.
Susan Hall, who leads the Conservative group on the London Assembly, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Considering the Mayor has yet to keep a single promise he’s ever made, we can probably disregard today’s announcement as the on-the-spot panic of a man who hasn’t yet figured out what Parliamentary seat he can slot himself into.”
Last year Sir Sadiq refused to rule out doubling his tenure to six terms as Mayor, meaning he would serve until 2040. But he said he had not anticipated the extent of the abuse he and his family would suffer while in his role.
The Mayor of London routinely suffers from racial and Islamophobic abuse on social media, and has disabled the ability for users to respond to his posts on X, formerly known as Twitter.
His most high-profile and longstanding feud is with US President Donald Trump, who recently suggested that London was set to introduce Sharia Law, Islam’s legal system – under the Mayor’s watch.
“It is perfectly acceptable, and it’s the joy of a democracy, for people to have view on politicians. Donald Trump is perfectly entitled to think I’m a terrible Mayor,” Sir Sadiq told LBC today.
“What is wrong is him saying Sharia Law is coming to London – he’s clearly linking the fact that I’m a Muslim and proud of that with his views on those things. We should be bold, courageous and decent citizens, and call it out.
“I’m happy to have a conversation with Donald Trump about which country has better cities – that is a legitimate debate to have. It’s not about me – it’s about decent Muslims and decent people who feel the consequences and bear the brunt of what President Trump says. People are being empowered to use bad language and behave badly against religious minorities, including Muslims as well.”
The Mayor also dismissed suggestions that the Prime Minister should have stepped in earlier to defend him from President Trump’s criticism. It took over a day for Sir Keir Starmer to issue a response, in which he said Mr Trump’s comments were “ridiculous nonsense”.
Sir Sadiq said: “I was pleased yesterday to see Keir Starmer’s view on this matter. The first opportunity he got, he said it. I’m not in charge of the Prime Minister’s diary.”
