Sir Sadiq Khan has given his strongest hint yet that he will stand for a fourth term to be Mayor of London, having “already worked out” his campaign for the next contest for City Hall in 2028.
“Once the election begins, we know who the candidates are, I will have a strategy to deal with both Count Binface and Reform,” he told The Standard.
In an LBC podcast earlier this week, the London Mayor ruled out seeking to be an MP again.
He said: “I don't want to be a Member of Parliament again. I've done that. I was a Member of Parliament for 11 years.”
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Laila Cunningham will challenge Sadiq Khan | PA“I’ve got the best job in politics. I’m thoroughly enjoying being the Mayor because I can deliver on the London promise that you work hard, you get a helping hand, you can achieve anything.”
“I’ve worked really hard to make the city fairer, greener, safer, more prosperous and healthy. As long as I can deliver, I will carry on doing so.”
Pressed whether he was ruling out going for a fourth term in 2028, he explained: “The key thing was to rule out I do not want to be the leader of the Labour Party or the Prime Minister.”
Sir Sadiq would be up against Reform UK candidate Laila Cunningham in the mayoral election in two years' time, a campaign he said he would “relish”.
Signalling he had been thinking about how to defeat Reform in the capital, he added: “I have already worked out the ‘28 campaign.”
In a side-swipe at Ms Cunningham and the controversy that has followed her appointment, he said: “The problem is, I don’t know if the Reform candidate will still be the candidate in 2028.
“So, I don’t want to have a campaign for a candidate that may not be the candidate in 2028.”
The former Tooting MP has his fair share of critics, particularly in Outer London over his Ulez scheme expansion.
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Despite this, he may also be tempted to opt for another four years in City Hall after a newly revealed poll found he was the most popular Labour party member in Britain.
The London Mayor has a favourability rating of +74, compared to the Greater Manchester Mayor on +39, accoridng to a Survation poll for Labour List.
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and Metro Mayor for the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram were on +56 and +44, respectively.
He will also be keen to protect his legacy after 12 years in power, having worked to clean up London’s air, open the Elizabeth line and deliver free school lunches for every state primary school pupil in the capital.
However, Labour has slumped in the polls, including a record low in London, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage set on winning councils in the capital for the first time this May.
Ms Cunningham is also seeking to turn the borough elections into what she calls “the first referendum on Sadiq Khan’s London", even though he has already won three terms in office.
A spokesman for the Mayor said: “Sadiq has not yet announced whether he is standing again for Mayor.
“This is the same as previous elections, where he announced his decision much later in the electoral cycle”.
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