Religion enters London mayoral race
As polls show Muslim poised to take job for first time, opponent takes jab at faith
LONDON— Londoners will elect a successor to flamboyant Mayor Boris Johnson today, as polls suggest the high-profile job of running the British capital will be filled for the first time by a Muslim.
The Labour Party’s Sadiq Khan, the son of a bus driver from Pakistan and a Muslim, has held a consistent lead over Conservative Party rival Zac Goldsmith in polls.
It appears to be a two-man race between the two members of Parliament. Local elections are taking place across England on Thursday, and lawmakers will be elected in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Goldsmith, 41, at first glance appears to be cut from the same cloth as New York-born Johnson: Both are members of Parliament for the ruling Conservative Party, they attended the exclusive Eton College and even have blond hair — although Goldsmith’s locks have turned grey.
Fewer similarities exist between Khan, 45, and Goldsmith. In contrast to Khan’s humble origins growing up in government-subsidized housing in the Tooting neighbourhood of south London, Goldsmith is the son of the late billionaire financier James Goldsmith. Yet, the Conservative candidate does have a Pakistani connection: His sister, Jemima, is the former wife of Pakistani politician and former cricketer Imran Khan. They divorced in 2004.
“Zac knows that he was dealt a good hand in life. For Zac the most important thing is how you use that, and he has used it to campaign on issues throughout his whole life that he believes are of huge importance,” Nick de Bois, Goldsmith’s campaign chairman, told USA Today.
The campaign for mayor drew to a close amid controversy, when an article in the Mail on Sunday with Goldsmith’s byline seemed to make a veiled reference to Khan’s religion by raising the issue of Islamic terrorists.
The article, titled: “On Thursday, are we really going to hand the world’s greatest city to a Labour Party that thinks terrorists is (sic) its friends?” included a picture of a bus that exploded during the 2005 terror attacks on London’s transport system that killed 52 people. The attackers were inspired by Al Qaeda.
Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was nominated for the leadership by Khan, has described representatives of Hezbollah and Hamas as “friends.” Hezbollah is a pro-Iranian militant group based in Lebanon, and Hamas is a militant group that governs the Gaza Strip. Both are considered terrorist groups by the U.S. government.
Khan responded to the article by calling for Londoners to reject Goldsmith’s “division and fear.” Gold- smith told London radio station LBC on Tuesday that he was not involved in choosing the photo of the bus. “When I saw the image I felt it was inappropriate,” he said.
About 1 million residents of London are Muslim, or 12 per cent of the population, according to a 2011 census. Many are of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin.
The recent flood of migrants, mostly Muslims, into Europe has sparked a backlash fuelled by anti-immigration groups such as the U.K. Independence Party. Nigel Farage, leader of that party, backs a June 23 referendum calling on Britain to exit the European Union, which he said is letting in very large numbers of people who include “terrorists.”
For the most part, the campaign has been about local issues. Khan, who served as transport minister between 2009 and 2010, pledges to fix London’s housing crisis by ensuring new affordable homes are built, freeze fares on public transport, defend the National Health Service from cuts by the Conservative Party, improve neighbourhood policing and tackle extremism and radicalization.
Goldsmith, an environmentalist, pledges to build 50,000 homes on brownfield land, get more people cycling and create more parks to make London “the greenest and cleanest city on Earth.”
Johnson, also a member of Parliament, will bow out after two terms as mayor dating back to 2008. He is currently campaigning for Britons to vote in the referendum to leave the EU, dubbed Brexit.