Sadiq Khan re-elected as London Mayor

Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. London, Cornfield, London. Cornfield, London. Can you please, can you please, Sadiq, just pause me, please. The security will remove people who disrupt the speech. I made it very clear beforehand that that was not to happen. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you London. It’s the honour of my life to serve the city that I love and I’m beyond humbled right now. I want to express my deep gratitude to my fellow Londoners and make this pledge to you. I promise to repay the trust you’ve placed in me by working tirelessly to deliver the fairer, safer and greener London you deserve. It’s been a difficult few months. We faced a campaign of non-stop negativity, but I couldn’t be more proud that we answered fear mongering with facts, hate with hope and attempts to divide with efforts to unite. We ran a campaign that was in keeping with the spirit and values of this great city. A city that regards our diversity not as a weakness but an almighty strength, and one that rejects right hard wing populism and looks forward, not back. It’s truly an honour to be reelected for a third term. And to do so to do so with record levels of support from Londoners, with an increased margin of victory. But today’s not about making history, it’s about shaping our future. A future where our children can be nourished with free school meals and breathe cleaner air. We’re all Londoners are given the support and helping hand they need to fulfil their potential and where our social fabric is strengthened and our diverse communities cherished and celebrated. My determination to ensure London leads from the front with world leading green action remains as strong as ever. We’ve already made great strides cleaning up our air and we’ll continue to tackle pollution, whether it’s found on our streets or in our rivers. At the same time, I pledge to have a constant focus on all the other issues that Londoners also care about. The rising cost of living, crime on our streets, Homelessness. Affordable housing. For the last eight years, London has been swimming against the tide of a Tory government. And now, with a Labour Party that’s ready to govern again under Keir Starmer, it’s time for Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice. A general election will not just pave the path to a new direction for our country that’ll make bold action. Londoners want to see a reality. I also have a message to those Londoners who didn’t vote for me this week. I promise I’ll always be a mayor for all Londoners and one who takes very seriously the duty I have to represent the interests of every community. I must forget to say a massive thank you to my campaign team for their hard work and dedication. You’ve all been brilliant. I also want to thank CARE and the Shadow Cabinet for all their support, our Assembly members and candidates, our council leaders and councillors across this great city, our volunteers, our trade unionists and Labour Party members and the returning officer and everyone here at City Hall for ensuring Londoners could make their voices heard. A special thank you goes to my mum for everything she’s done for me. I love you, and to my amazing wife Sarvia, and our daughters Anisa and Amara, for their strength and support throughout all these years. I know there have been times when this job has taken a toll on you, and that’s not right or fair. Some of the stuff on social media, the protests, buy a home, the threats, it’s upsetting, it’s frightening and it’s wrong. I’m truly sorry to put you through this, but I also know you share my belief as hard as it can be sometimes this work is worth doing because it means being able to give to other families the same life changing opportunities that this wonderful city has extended to ours. I love you all so much. My final thank you must go to my fellow Londoners, the people who make this city not only special, but the greatest city in the world. Once again you’ve proved that London is a city of progress, a city of pluralism and above all a city of possibility, a beacon for openness, inclusion and equality across the world. It’s Londoners who inspire me every day to continue our mission of building a fairer, safer and greener London and in what I hope will be a year of great change, A future Labour government led by Keir Starmer. Working with us in City Hall will mean we can go much further and accomplish so much more, ensuring that for our capital and for our country, our brightest days are still ahead of us. Thank you.