“My name is Sadiq Khan, I am the Mayor of London”, the new mayor told supporters during a multi-faith service in London’s Southwark Cathedral, as quoted by the Sky News television channel.
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Making a direct reference to the divisive campaign run by Goldsmith’s team, which has been criticised for its attempts to link Khan with extremist personalities, he said, “This election was not without controversy and I am so proud that London has today chosen hope over fear and unity over division”.
Turnout was a relatively high 45.6 percent, up from 38 percent in 2012.
He said: “The total incompetence of London Elects and Barnet Council in their handling of this ballot has led to serious questions over the London-wide list result and caused huge delays in the counting process”.
London’s mayoral contest made global headlines as race and religion emerged as central issues, as Khan’s election makes him the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital city.
The Guardian quoted Sadiq Khan accusing Conservative politicians Prime Minister David Cameron and Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative candidate for mayor of London, of acting like Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
They gave Khan a standing ovation as he pledged to be an approachable Everyman for his city of 8.2 million – including more than a million residents who, like him, happen to be Muslim.
The attacks, criticized by some senior Conservatives, appear not to have deterred voters from backing Khan. “On top of that, leaflets were targeted specifically at London Hindus and Sikhs… seeking to divide Londoners along religious and ethnic lines”, Amin wrote on a Conservative blog.
The Mayor said that that fear doesn’t make us safer, it only makes us weaker, and the politics of fear is simply not welcome in our city. Zac Goldsmith gave a brief speech in which he said he wished Mr Khan well.
Even Goldsmith’s sister criticized his tactics.
Following the anti-Semitism row, the Labour party lost key votes among Jewish communities in Glasgow, Manchester and London’s borough of Barnet in north-west London. That and Khan’s victory were bright spots for Labour, which was pushed into third place in Scotland, where it was once dominant. That may lessen the party’s appetite to push for a new referendum on Scottish independence.
He said: “Every new party leader has to prove himself”.
“There’s no point in us just speaking to Labour voters, our core vote”. UKIP had a good night winning seven seats at the Welsh Assembly. Goldsmith was left with 994,614, or 43 per cent of the vote.
Pressed repeatedly about whether this meant London’s safety was now compromised, Fallon said his party accepted the result and that the government would “work with [Khan] for a successful London by investing in housing and transport and to ensure London continues to grow successfully for all Londoners”.
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A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: “We don’t discuss Jeremy’s movements but he will undertake a significant number of public engagements with the Labour In campaign in the next few weeks”.
