Serving Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan drops more than a hint that he’ll run for a fourth term.
We’re still more than two years out from the next London Mayoral Election, set for May 2028. Manoeuvrings are, however, already underway.
Last week, Sir Sadiq Khan told LBC that he’d ruled out going back to his old job. “I don’t want to be a Member of Parliament again. I’ve done that. I was a Member of Parliament for 11 years.”
By the time the 2028 Mayoral election comes round, he’ll have been Mayor of London for 12 years. Yet it seems he’s keen for more.
Speaking to the Standard on Friday, Khan made playful comments about his putative election run: “I have already worked out the ’28 campaign,” he said. “Once the election begins, we know who the candidates are, I will have a strategy to deal with both Count Binface and Reform.”
(In case you’re unaware, one of those is a joke creation with a raft of attention-grabbing but unworkable policies; the other is Count Binface.)
Khan is already the longest serving Mayor of London, racking up 10 years so far, compared to eight each for Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone. A successful bid at a fourth term would set him up for a 16-year run at the top.
Of course, his comments are not binding, and may be just a gentle tease. They’re also not definitive. Read those words again; he’s not saying “I’m standing”. He might have “worked out the strategy” on behalf of a different Labour successor. There is wiggle room. So far it’s vague ‘intent’ rather than a definitive vow.
Which doesn’t stop the Express running the headline: “Nightmare as Sadiq Khan Vows to Vows to Stand for London Mayor Again”.
Who are the other candidates for Mayor of London in 2028?
It’s still early days, and most parties have yet to announce a candidate. The exception is Reform, who have put forward Laila Cunningham, currently a Westminster City Councillor.
Other Labour figures linked with the role include the MPs Dawn Butler, Stella Creasy and Rosena Allin-Khan (current incumbent of Sadiq Khan’s old seat in Tooting). Actor Idris Elba had also been rumoured on an anti-knife crime ticket, but he’s since denied any intention to run for the job.
On the Tory side, no clear front-runner has yet emerged. Sir James Cleverley, the former Home Secretary, has said he’d “be mad not to think about it”. No word yet from the Greens or Lib Dems.
As for independents, the well-known architectural commentator and cycling advocate Peter Murray has thrown his hat into the ring. And, of course, a certain bin-faced space warrior is also likely to be on the ballot sheet.
BINFACE 2028. pic.twitter.com/IdV0rzgSYi
— Count Binface (@CountBinface) November 6, 2024
