Sadiq Khan ‘won’t be scared to take on Jeremy Corbyn to get best policies for London’

Labour's candidate for Mayor of London: Sadiq Khan
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Pippa Crerar14 September 2015

Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan today vowed to put fighting for the best deal for London ahead of loyalty to his party’s leadership.

Mr Khan, who resoundingly beat Dame Tessa Jowell for the nomination in a surprise victory on Friday, said he would above all else be “an advocate” for the capital.

His remarks indicate there could be months of wrangling ahead between the Tooting MP and new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn over which policies will go down best in London.

In his first newspaper interview since being selected he told the Standard: “I fought this campaign on who I am. I can set out what my vision is, what I want to do. Being in government is a bit different, you have collective responsibility, you’re a team player.”

Mr Khan, who beat Dame Tessa by 58.9 to 41.1 per cent of the vote, had nominated Mr Corbyn in the leadership contest but voted for Andy Burnham.

Stressing his independence, he said: “If you look at my last 10 years in Parliament, one thing nobody can accuse me of is being scared of my leader.”

Mr Khan’s campaign was boosted by Corbynmania, with newly registered Labour supporters backing him almost three to one over Dame Tessa, although he played this down.

“We spent a lot of time before Corbynmania really took off encouraging people to get involved in the Labour selection process and had already seen a lot of enthusiasm,” he said.

He rejected the “cross-over” theory that voters who backed Mr Corbyn in the leadership race also supported him as the most Left-wing mayoral candidate who could win.

Mr Khan, 44, admitted he faced a tough battle against his Conservative rival, almost certain to be environmentalist Tory MP Zac Goldsmith. “I’ve got to in the next few months win back the trust and confidence of those Londoners who couldn’t vote Labour in the last mayoral election,” he said.

He added that he had to persuade people that Labour is not anti-business or against aspiration. He also said he would take on the Government to make sure London got a fair deal: “There will be times I’ll be arguing with the Government, but there will be times I need them on my side.”

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