Plan B Forum

Sadiq Khan on verge of beating Zac Goldsmith in London mayoralty vote

Sadiq Khan is comfortably ahead of his rival Zac Goldsmith in the race for the London mayoralty after the majority of first-preference votes had been counted on Friday.

The 45-year-old MP for Tooting was expected to reclaim City Hall for Labour after eight years of Conservative rule, and at the end of an often bitter campaign during which the Conservatives accused Khan of “pandering to extremists”.

With all first-preference votes counted, Khan was on 46%, nine points ahead of Goldsmith. It appeared mathematically impossible that Goldsmith could catch him on second-preference votes. |”Sadiq has won without question,” said Peter Kellner, the former chairman of the market research firm YouGov, as he watched the results come in at City Hall. “He is well ahead on the first count and that’s not going to change radically.”

Kellner said Khan appeared to be on course for at least a 12-point victory after second-preference votes were counted.

As the result became clear, Conservatives turned on Goldsmith’s campaign. Former Conservative party chairman, Lady Warsi described it as an “appalling dog whistle campaign” and said it “lost us the election, our reputation and credibility on issues of race and religion”.

Roger Evans, the outgoing deputy mayor, said Goldsmith’s “very foolish” campaign left a “negative legacy which we in London are going to have to clear up long after the people who ran Zac Goldsmith’s campaign have gone on their way”.

“I hope we don’t do this stupid thing again by trying to bring Sadiq down by saying he is an extremist,” added Andrew Boff, a senior Tory on the London Assembly. “He is not an extremist.

He went out and engaged with people with orthodox religious views. Dialogue is not assisted by shutting people out.”

Even Goldsmith’s sister, Jemima, tweeted: “Sad that Zac’s campaign did not reflect who I know him to be- an eco friendly, independent-minded politician with integrity.”

MP for Tooting

Goldsmith is known for his legal attack on the magazine Private Eye, which referred to him as "Sir Jams" and in Goldsmith's Referendum Party period as "Sir Jams Fishpaste". In 1976 he issued more than 60 libel writs against Private Eye and its distributors, nearly bankrupting the magazine and almost imprisoning its editor Richard Ingrams. This story is detailed in Ingrams' book Goldenballs! The publisher of the magazine was Anthony Blond, an old friend; Blond and Goldsmith themselves remained on good terms.

The libel actions arose from a piece that Private Eye published following the disappearance of Lord Lucan after the murder of his children's nanny. The article stated (incorrectly) that Goldsmith had participated in a meeting called by John Aspinall after Lucan's disappearance, and further claimed that the meeting amounted to a conspiracy to obstruct the course of justice by hampering the police enquiries. Goldsmith certainly was acquainted with Lucan as a fellow regular at Aspinall's gambling club, the Clermont, but it is not clear how close they were (but apparently on good enough terms for Lucan to ask him for a loan of £10,000 the previous year, and for Goldsmith to counter with an offer to make him a gift of that sum)

MajGenl.Meade wrote:
Gob might recall - wasn't this the lawsuit during which the Eye responded to the opposing counsel's demand for a retraction with the question: "What would your response be if we were to tell you to f*** off?"

Britain’s most senior Muslim MP has received death threats from some hardline Islamic extremists after voting in favour of equal marriage earlier this month.

Police have told Labour MP Sadiq Khan, who is also the shadow justice secretary and represents Tooting in south London, that he should review the security around him and his family following the Commons vote.

Some Islamic groups said that by voting for same-sex marriage, Mr Khan was “selling out” his religion.

Mufti Muhammed Aslam Naqshbandi Bandhalev, head imam of the Jamia Islamia Rizvia mosque in Bradford, issued a fatwa against Mr Khan declaring that he is an “apostate” from Islam who must “repent before Allah”.

Sue U wrote:

MP for Tooting

Srsly??

Sue U wrote:

MP for Tooting

Srsly??

Tooting is a district of South London, England, 5 miles (8 km) south south-west of Charing Cross. Best known for its baked bean manufacturing industry.

Scooter wrote:

Bicycle Bill wrote:...
Where I come from, we call that a 'babushka'.

-"BB"-

Presidential hopeful Donald Trump has said the newly elected mayor of London would be an "exception" to his proposed ban on Muslims travelling to the US.

Because of his faith, Sadiq Khan had expressed concern that he would not be able to visit the US if Mr Trump were elected.

Mr Trump proposed a ban on Muslims entering the US after attacks in Paris killed 130 people last year.

"There will always be exceptions," the Republican businessman said.

The temporary ban has been widely criticised in the US and abroad but Mr Trump has stood by the proposal, saying it is needed to ensure US security.

Mr Trump said he was "happy" that Mr Khan would be leading London.

"If he does a good job and frankly if he does a great job, that would be a terrific thing," he added.

Mr Khan - the son of Pakistani immigrants - is London's first Muslim mayor, after beating Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith for the Labour Party by 1,310,143 votes to 994,614.

"I want to go to America to meet with and engage with American mayors," Mr Khan told Time magazine. "If Donald Trump becomes the president I'll be stopped from going there by virtue of my faith."

He added that he was "confident that Donald Trump's approach to politics" would not prevail in America.