The election of Sadiq Khan as mayor of London comes at a time of strife. Europe is struggling with racial tensions in the wake of terror attacks and the UK seems to be rejecting the Labour Party, including in Scotland. The crowning of the former Labour minister in cosmopolitan London is an interesting development as Mr Khan is the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital city and the second Muslim mayor in a Western country, after Rotterdam in the Netherlands where Ahmed Aboutaleb has been mayor for seven years.
Mr Khan is the son of a Pakistani who migrated and became a London bus driver. Things could go either way with Mr Khan becoming an even more divisive figure: British PM David Cameron declared right after the result that he was not backing down on the questions raised about Mr Khan’s past brush with religious hardliners even if Mr Khan claims he was only dealing with them as a human rights lawyer. Conversely,
Mr Khan could be the unifying force in an inclusive society that recognises the contribution of several million peace-loving Muslims to the UK. However, Mr Khan was himself in the centre of a storm with his own community when he labelled moderate Muslims as “Uncle Toms”.
London has a unique racial mix. Mr Khan, up against a billionaire whose sister is a former wife of Pakistani politician Imran Khan, campaigned on the city’s ageing infrastructure, transport and housing problems. His victory is seen as a spark of hope for the Labour Party as opposed to its rout in Scotland while it just won a few byelections in Britain.
