LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan was among the first in Britain on Wednesday (5) to congratulate New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, declaring the historic result a victory of “hope over fear.”
Khan took to social media to celebrate his fellow Muslim mayor-elect of America’s largest city and drew parallels with his own leadership as mayor of London.
The 55-year-old Labour politician of Pakistani heritage had made history himself when he became the first to be elected for a third mayoral term in London in May last year.
“New Yorkers faced a clear choice – between hope and fear – and just like we’ve seen in London – hope won,” said Khan. “Huge congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on his historic campaign.”
The message follows Khan’s long-running clashes with US president Donald Trump, who has frequently targeted the London mayor and branded him the “worst” mayor in the world. Khan, in turn, has described Trump as “racist, sexist, misogynistic and Islamophobic.”
In his fiery victory speech, a defiant Mamdani called on Trump to “turn the volume up” to hear the loud cheers from his supporters.
“New York will remain a city of immigrants – a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” he said.
Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York City with his family at the age of seven and became a naturalised US citizen in 2018.
Other British politicians have been less vocal about the victory of New York’s first mayor of Indian heritage — the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Indian-origin Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani.
His political supporters in Britain lie mainly on the far Left, including former Labour leader and North London MP Jeremy Corbyn, who helped canvass for the 34-year-old mayor-elect by hosting a phone bank in London.
“Let’s get Zohran over the finish line for a New York that’s affordable for all,” said Corbyn, posing with a ‘North London 4 Zohran’ shirt.
The newly elected Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, also drew some comparisons between himself and Mamdani for their shared left-wing politics and use of social media.
The UK media has described the New York election outcome as “Trump’s worst nightmare” and highlighted the many challenges that lie ahead for the new mayor.
“He campaigned as a sharp critic of the corporate and business elite that call New York City their home and have made Manhattan the financial capital of the world. To govern effectively, he will probably have to make some form of peace with those interests — a process he has already begun in recent weeks,” noted the BBC.
(PTI)
