The Progress 1000: Mayor Sadiq Khan leads the Evening Standard's list of London's most influential people

Pledge: Sadiq Khan has vowed to protect London's historic venues from developers with a new soundproofing rule
Alex Lentati
Pippa Crerar7 September 2016

Sadiq Khan was today named the most influential person in London as the new Mayor topped the Evening Standard’s list celebrating progress and innovators.

Our panel of editors, critics and experts compiling the annual line-up judged that Mr Khan, the son of an immigrant bus driver, was the perfect symbol of London as the global capital of opportunity.

Since his dramatic election victory in May, the Mayor’s forward-thinking focus on policies such as improving air quality, building more affordable homes and getting the best out of Brexit put him on top.

He was closely followed by Theresa May, who took over at Number 10 amid the fall-out of the vote to leave the European Union, in second place.

The new Prime Minister, who will lead the country through potentially stormy times ahead, has already excited comparisons with Margaret Thatcher but is very much her own woman.

The top 25

1    Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

2    Theresa May, Prime Minister

3   The Royal Family

4    Mo Farah, Athlete

5    Adele, Musician

6    Demis Hassabis Founder, Google DeepMind

7    Sir Nicholas Serota Director, Tate

8    Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice president, EMEA, Facebook

9    Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary

10    Sonia Friedman, Producer

11    Amber Rudd, Home Secretary

12    Major Tim Peake, Astronaut

13    Mark Carney Governor, Bank of England

14    Sir David Attenborough, Environmentalist

15    Zadie Smith, Author

16    Lord Hall, Director-general, BBC

17    Philip Hammond, Chancellor

18    Mike Brown Commissioner, Transport for London

19    Laura Kuenssberg, Political Editor, BBC

20    Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Commissioner, Metropolitan Police

21    Alexandra Shulman, Editor, British Vogue

22      Richard Chartres, Bishop of London

23    CITY OF LONDON 

24      Joanna Lumley, Actress

25      Jeremy Corbyn, Labour leader

Astronaut Major Tim Peake, who returned to earth from his inspiring space mission in June, and author Zadie Smith, who publishes her keenly awaited fifth novel Swing Time this autumn, feature as first-time entries in the top 25 most influential Londoners.

The tenth annual edition of The Progress 1000 celebrates “progress makers” - the people who are helping to shape the city for the future.

Mr Khan said: “It is a huge honour and a privilege to be named the Evening Standard’s Londoner of the year. I’m so proud to be the Mayor of London and to be able to work hard every day to make life better for all Londoners.

“There are so many inspiring, dedicated and heroic people on the Progress 1000 list. From giants of industry and successful entrepreneurs, to sporting heroes and Olympic medalists.

From artists, fashion designers and film-makers, to people who run charities that transform people’s lives. I’d like to congratulate them all - they are the living proof that London is leading the world in every field of human endeavour.”

Our full list - featuring leaders from the fields of music, business, science and technology - will be unveiled at a party tonight at the Science Museum.

Evening Standard editor Sarah Sands said: “We chose the word ‘progress’ carefully. That is what London’s influential people and businesses are achieving. And it is right to celebrate progress at the Science Museum because we are addressing the wonder of possibilities.”

The Royal Family - including the Queen, who celebrated her 90th birthday this year, Prince Charles and sons William and Harry - comes third.

In fourth place is runner Mo Farah who won two gold medals in Rio to extend his tally to four, making him Britain’s most successful Olympic track and field athlete of all time.

He is followed by singer Adele, who stormed the charts with her critically acclaimed album ‘25’ after a three-year long career break.

Progress 1000 Top 25 in ascending order

1/25

Top West End theatre producer Sonia Friedman, who brought Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to the stage, and Tate Director Sir Nicholas Serota, who this year oversaw the opening of the Switch House extension to Tate Modern, also represent the arts.

Six politicians feature in the top 25 - including new Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in ninth place.

Theresa May is the second most influential person on the Evening Standard's list this year
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The former mayor, who led the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union even though his city voted overwhelmingly against it, is ranked ninth to reflect the significant influence he still wields over the capital globally in his new role.

His Cabinet colleagues Amber Rudd, the well-connected Home Secretary whose star rose during the EU debates, and Chancellor Philip Hammond, tasked with steering the British economy through the choppy Brexit waters, are also highly ranked. Embattled Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comes in 25th.

Other London luminaries on the Progress 1000 list include the Bishop of London Richard Chartres, BBC Director-general Lord Hall, Bank of England governor Mark Carney, Carolyn Fairbairn, the first woman head of the Confederation of British Industry and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.

Mike Brown, his counterpart at Transport for London, is included after a successful year of modernising the transport network including bringing in the Night Tube at weekends.

Adele: No5 on our list
Rex

Demis Hassabis, the pioneer of artificial intelligence who founded Google DeepMind and Facebook vice-president Nicola Mendelsohn, the social network’s most powerful employee outside America, represent London’s tech stars.

Alexandra Shulman, editor-in-chief of British Vogue who has again led the way on the front row of the fashion shows this year and BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg, who has kept the political elite on their toes, are among the capital’s biggest movers and shakers.

And “national treasures” Sir David Attenborough, who this year had a state-of-the-art polar research vessel named after him, and actress Joanna Lumley, who had a big screen summer hit when she reprised her role as Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous, complete the 2016 list.

The Progress 1000, in partnership with Citi, and supported by Berkeley Group, is the Evening Standard’s celebration of London’s most influential people. #progress1000

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT