Sadiq Khan, Labour's candidate for London mayor, has warned Jeremy Corbyn that his leadership victory “doesn’t matter a jot” if the party doesn't win the next general election. In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Khan said Labour must be “more than a protest party” and distanced himself from Corbyn’s equivocation on Europe and refusal to sing the national anthem. But he insisted the new leader should be given space to find his feet after 32 years on the back benches, pointing out that Corbyn himself had never expected to win.
The Tooting MP and former shadow justice secretary also revealed that former party leader Ed Miliband will help him deliver leaflets in his campaign to become London mayor. And he lashed out at his mayoral rival George Galloway for “divisive politics” and for leaving a “mess” in Bradford where he was an MP. Speaking 10 days after he was crowned Labour’s candidate for London mayor, Khan said next May’s election would be a “clear choice” between him and Tory MP Zac Goldsmith.
Labour is desperate to win back the mayoralty after eight years of Conservative rule under Boris Johnson. The election will be seen as an early test of Labour’s electability under left-winger Corbyn, although Khan is at pains to promote himself as an individual rather than a party man. He is fully aware that many London-based families and businesses will be nervous about a Corbyn-led Labour. Khan was one of 35 MPs who nominated Corbyn to get him on to the ballot paper, in an effort to “broaden the debate”. He ended up voting for Andy Burnham.
Khan insisted this was “no reflection” on Corbyn. “I was quite clear when I nominated him that I probably wouldn’t be voting for him,” he said. “During the course of the summer Jeremy was able to persuade members to support him and members of the public to register as supporters. So, you know, he’s had a great summer but actually it doesn’t matter a jot if we don’t win the election. We’ve got to make sure we win next May in London and do our best to win in 2020 as well. We’ve got to persuade the public we’re more than a protest party, that we can be an effective government in waiting."
Khan conceded that Corbyn has had a rocky start. The new leader has been criticised for flip-flopping over whether he wants Britain to stay in the EU, refusing to talk to the press, and failing to sing the national anthem. Meanwhile his shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who has also never before held a front bench position, apologised on BBC1’s Question Time for suggesting in 2003 that IRA members should be “honoured”. Khan said Corbyn’s team must be given the "time and space” to “develop their views”.
He said: "I know how tough it is to go from a selection to an election and you’re trying to get your team ready, and I think we should be generous before we judge. Even Jeremy said when he first entered the contest he didn’t necessarily think he was going to win. Many of your readers – it must be the case because of the evidence we’ve seen – supported Jeremy because he was authentic and ran a positive campaign. So they will want him to be given the time to develop."
Does Khan believe the weeks ahead will go more smoothly for Corbyn? “I’m an optimist." But he made clear he disagreed with Corbyn on a number of issues, not least his refusal to sing the national anthem at a Battle of Britain memorial ceremony last week. "I happen to sing the anthem at events where it’s appropriate, whether it’s church events or sporting events,” Khan said pointedly. He is also unashamedly pro-European, a position that doesn't seem to be shared by the new leader, who bowed to pressure from MPs last week to clarify that he did actually want Britain to stay in the EU.
Khan said he was not afraid to stand up to Corbyn if he becomes London mayor. “There will be times that Jeremy and I work closely together,” he said carefully. "I think Jeremy gets the inequality in London and is passionate about reducing it, I think Jeremy gets the housing crisis, but other times we might disagree. I’m a passionate pro-European – for me, I will argue for us to stay inside the EU, no ifs no buts. The reality is that you and I haven’t experienced a mass war in Europe and credit's got to go to the European Union."
What does he make of Corbyn’s connections with militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah? “He’s talked to people whose views he finds unpalatable and we find unpalatable,” Khan said. "But Jeremy has spent his whole life fighting against discrimination of all types and it’s really important to remember that.” He welcomed McDonnell’s apology over his IRA comments: "I can’t improve upon the words that John’s said."
Khan has been attacked on Twitter by George Galloway, the Respect party leader also running for London mayor, over his efforts to distance himself from Corbyn’s policies.
In short, I fully support the policies of @jeremycorbyn while my opponent Sadiq Khan supports Corbyn as the rope supports the hanging man...
Galloway, who lost his Bradford West seat to Labour’s Naz Shah in May, has long backed Corbyn and said in July he would rejoin Labour “pretty damn quick” if he became leader. Labour has said he would not be invited to join, after he was expelled from the party in 2003 over comments on the Iraq war.
“I can understand why Mr Galloway doesn’t like me,” Khan said. "I went to Bradford to launch Naz Shah’s campaign a few months ago and we know how that movie ended. I went to east London at the last general election and we know how that movie ended for Mr Galloway. So I understand why he’s got beef with me.
"But you know what? I think his style of politics are divisive, I think people are fed up with that kind of politics. I was really pleased that we’ve got Naz Shah elected in Bradford who’s picking up the pieces in relation to the mess made by Mr Galloway. So I’m not going to get involved with petty name-calling like he has, but you judge people on their public record – I would compare my public record with his any day."
Khan said bluntly that he did not regard Galloway as a threat. "The reality is that the choice next May is going to be one of two mayors – Zac Goldsmith or me, and that’s the clear choice Londoners face,” he said. “I know Zac, I think he’s a nice guy. I like him as a human being and I’m hoping there’ll be a good positive campaign."
Khan, who grew up on a south London council estate with seven siblings and worked as a human rights lawyer for a decade before entering politics, has long played up his “working-class boy done good” credentials. But his team knows he has to do more than that to convince well-off Londoners he is on their side. He said he was determined to make “business people give Labour a second look” and compared his campaign to “the old Heineken advert – to reach parts of London not previously reached”.
Does the appointment of McDonnell – who listed his hobby in Who's Who as “generally fomenting the overthrow of capitalism” – make it more difficult to get businesses on side? “The campaign I’m going to run in London will be a London campaign,” Khan said. "The reality is that before John McDonnell became shadow chancellor, before Jeremy Corbyn became leader, there was a perception that Labour was anti-business. So we can’t blame John and Jeremy for that. So my job, even if Ed Miliband was leader and Ed Balls was shadow chancellor, is to persuade businesses that I’m a pro-business mayor."
In his aim to be the “most pro-business mayor London’s ever had”, Khan criticised McDonnell’s long-time plan to raise the top level of income tax to 60p. The shadow chancellor said last week he would settle for raising it from 45p to 50p. Khan said: "I don’t agree with the 60p top rate of income tax and I’m pleased that John’s clarified that."
He also believes he can win over more people in London's outer boroughs, which are seen as more naturally Conservative. "I’m confident that we can persuade Londoners – whether you’re outer or inner, rich or poor, old or young, work in the public sector or private sector – that we can persuade you to lend me your vote next May.” Team Khan will be focusing their efforts on the housing crisis, air quality, and getting workers a "decent day’s pay".
And even Ed Miliband looks set to knock on some doors. Khan remains close to his former boss, who resigned in May after leading Labour to its worst election defeat since 1983. He said Miliband was “chuffed” to see Khan win the mayoral candidacy. “Just like every other Labour supporter he will do his bit to make sure we get the right result on May 5th,” he said. "He’s offered to do anything, he will deliver leaflets if he needs to, he’ll knock on doors if he needs to, he’ll give advice if he needs to. He’s not embarrassed about working hard."
Khan’s emphatic victory earlier this month came as a surprise to pollsters convinced he would be beaten by former Olympics minister Tessa Jowell. Khan ended up winning in the final round by 58.9% to 41.1%. Did he know he would win big? “Yeah, I did,” he said. "We had a great campaign from day one. I knew we had something special and we had lots and lots of volunteers. I didn’t take a holiday this year, I took one day off."
He was keen to emphasise that he won in all three sections in the final round – full members, registered supporters, and affiliated supporters – and not just from those signing up to vote for Corbyn as leader. "The challenges that Ed [Miliband] had in 2010 were caused partly by [the fact] he didn’t win in all sections,” Khan said. “So I understand the importance of winning big and winning all three sections but you speak to any lawyer, any sportsperson, any politician, a win is a win."
He said Jowell was a “class act” and they had spoken since the vote. “Don’t be surprised if I pinch some of her best ideas for my campaign,” he said. “I’m sure she’ll be playing a leading role in my campaign as well.” Will he pinch any of her staff, too? "I’ll make my appointments with the relevant staff members rather than via BuzzFeed, as fantastic as you are. I can assure you there’s one team."
Khan, who has vowed to step down as MP for Tooting if he becomes mayor, accused Johnson of giving "the impression that mayors can’t do much”. He criticised him for delays over the long-awaited night tube, which was supposed to launch on 12 September. The plan would see a 24-hour service on Fridays and Saturdays on five lines. But workers have staged strikes over rotas and working conditions.
“I hold him [Johnson] responsible," he said. "What should be happening is that the trade unions and Transport for London should be getting round the table to solve this. I’m optimistic that in the very near future we’ll see night tubes running and my prediction is we’ll see them running this side of New Year’s Eve."
He also underlined his opposition to a third runway at Heathrow Airport – despite his support for it as a transport minister under Gordon Brown. He now backs expansion at Gatwick. “I’m proud of being an evidence-based politician, I can change my mind,” Khan said. “My values plus evidence equals the policies I come out with. Our air quality is a killer, it makes you sick and it’s illegal. There are some classrooms in west London that have stopped teaching during the day because of the noise of the aircraft overhead."
Khan insisted he was “optimistic" about Labour’s future after losing two general elections in a row. He knows that winning London would be a huge morale boost for the shellshocked party and a major step on the way to its rehabilitation. But he said simply: “It’s crucial to Londoners that we win next May."