Sadiq Khan Wins 3rd Term as London Mayor

Labour’s Sadiq Khan has won a historic third term as Mayor of London.

Khan was first elected the Mayor of London in 2016. A few months later he became one of the most prominent opponents of Brexit.

Born in Tooting, South London, Khan was a lawyer before becoming a Member of Parliament.

Following his successful election in 2016 he argued online and in interviews with then-President Donald Trump.

Sadiq Khan was re-elected as Mayor in May 2021.

His main opponent was Susan Hall, who was officially named as the Conservative Party candidate for the Mayor of London election at the Battle of Britain Bunker in Uxbridge, London, on July 19, 2023.

The 2024 was predicted to be a close one, partially due to Hall’s victory in 2023’s Uxbridge by-election which was supposedly fought – and lost – on Khan’s expansion of London’s ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ).

Hall said she would scrap ULEZ “on her first day” and also claimed that Khan planned to implement a pay-per-mile charge for motorists, a claim that Khan denied on many occasions.

Professor Sir John Curtice said the ULEZ row did not “have a significant impact on the result of the mayoral election”.

Sadiq Khan opened his victory speech thanking Londoners “from the bottom of my heart”.

He said: “It’s the honour of my life to serve the city that I love and I’m beyond humbled right now.”

Khan went on to promise Londoners “to repay the trust you’ve placed in me” and deliver a “fairer, safer and greener” city.

He admitted that the last few months have been difficult, facing “non-stop negativity”.

Khan said his campaign has “answered fear-mongering with facts” and countered attempts to divide with efforts to unite.

He concluded: “Our brightest days are still ahead of us.”

Hall had promised to rid London of its low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs).

Hirra Khan Adeogun, co-director of climate charity Possible said:

“This is an emphatic victory for clean air and climate action.”

“While some candidates try to turn basic public health policy into a culture war, this result is yet more proof that the public stands behind leaders who want to do more to clean up our air, calm down our roads and deliver real climate action.”

Also welcoming Sadiq Khan’s imminent victory, Henry Gregg, Director of External Affairs, Asthma + Lung UK, said:

“With Sadiq Khan’s re-election, London now needs the mayor to go further to protect the half a million Londoners who live with a lung condition.

“He must be bolder and do more by helping to support Londoners’ shift to cleaner forms of transport.

“Despite tangible improvements to the capital’s bus system over the past year, better provision of frequent, accessible, and affordable public transport across London is needed.

“It’s important the emergency brake on air pollution is applied so that many lives can be saved.”