I have lived and worked in London all my life and for the past 20 years, as council leader or MP, represented one of its most politically fought over and eclectic parts, Hammersmith & Fulham.
I do not exaggerate in saying much of what makes London communities work is on the line in next year’s Mayoral election.
My constituents, already facing five more years of a Tory Government, need a champion in City Hall.
The current mayor has not proven capable, siding with vested interests over the needs of Londoners.
Whether it is destroying the 100 year-old Shepherds Bush Market or demolishing 750 good quality council houses in West Kensington to make way for high-rise luxury flats, Boris Johnson used his planning and regeneration powers against the wishes of residents and small businesses alike.
Boris was keen to take control of the London NHS but silent in speaking out against hospital service closures at Charing Cross, Ealing or Lewisham.
Another Tory Mayor, however presented, will be no different.
We must win to prevent the hollowing out and social cleansing of London, but we must win for positive reasons too.
That’s why we need a Mayor with a radical and bold agenda for a progressive city. For me, that person is Sadiq Khan.
The son of a bus driver and immigrant parents who moved to London for the opportunities many take for granted, he is a Londoner born and bred.
His family gave the young Sadiq the platform on which he built a career as a leading human rights lawyer, campaigning Member of Parliament and now a frontrunner for the Mayoralty.
That track record of standing up for the rule of law, universal human rights and access to justice is why so many leading figures from the legal world are today supporting Sadiq’s campaign.
Writing yesterday, in a letter to the Solicitors Journal, Michael Mansfield QC, Imran Khan and Matthew Ryder – part of the legal team who secured justice for the Lawrence family – add their support, stating that Sadiq as Mayor would “represent the very best of modern, tolerant and diverse London”.
Shadow Attorney General Willy Bach and Shadow Solicitor General Karl Turner, former Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer, former Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry MP and leading human rights lawyers Baroness Helena Kennedy and Ben Emerson, are all supporting Sadiq.
What unites Sadiq’s supporters is a desire to see London governed by a dynamic and modern Mayor, suited to represent this vibrant and diverse city. That person has to be Sadiq Khan. He can be the champion that Londoners need.
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