London in hands of Khan

LONDON: Labour politician Sadiq Khan won re-election as London mayor on Saturday in a narrower than expected victory over Conservative rival Shaun Bailey.

Mr Khan became the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when first elected in 2016.

The 50-year-old politician’s victory was one of the bright spots for the main opposition Labour party after a largely desultory showing in local elections on Thursday.

In his victory speech, Mr Khan said that during his second term he would be focusing on “building bridges between the different communities” and between city hall and the government.

He said he wanted “to ensure London can play its part in a national recovery” and to “build a brighter, greener and more equal future” for the capital.

Mr Khan (pictured) campaigned on a promise of “jobs, jobs, jobs”, bidding to keep London on its perch as a top world city while tackling the crisis and the fallout from Brexit, which could threaten the capital’s vital financial sector.

Mr Khan has made a name for himself as a vocal critic of Brexit and of successive Conservative prime ministers, including his mayoral predecessor Boris Johnson — as well as for a feud with former US president Donald Trump.

The pair became embroiled in an extraordinary war of words after Mr Khan criticised Mr Trump’s controversial travel ban on people from certain Muslim countries.

Mr Trump accused Mr Khan of doing a “very bad job on terrorism” and called him a “stone cold loser” and a “national disgrace”.