Leading the New Year Honours list, Sadiq Khan has been knighted – a few months after he won a third term as the Mayor of London.
He will receive the honour alongside actor Stephen Fry and former England manager Gareth Southgate.
The Labour politician has said that he was “truly humbled” to receive the honour, at the same time his time in post has overseen increasing levels of knife crime in the capital.
He said: “I couldn’t have dreamed when growing up on a council estate in south London that I would one day be Mayor of London.
In this role, Khan was the first Mulim mayor of a major city in the West, later going on to win two more terms
PA
“It’s the honour of my life to serve the city I love and I will continue to build the fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous London that all of the capital’s communities deserve.”
Before entering the world of politics, Khan grew up in south London and became a solicitor, specialising in human rights law.
However, he soon left his love of law behind to pursue political circles instead, becoming the prospective Labour candidate for Tooting.
He was later elected to Parliament at the General Election and was recipient of The Spectator’s ”Newcomer of the Year Award” in 2005 – the same title which was won by Nigel Farage earlier this year.
After serving time in a junior ministerial position under Gordon Brown and shadow justice secretary under Ed Miliband, Khan defeated Conservative Zac Goldsmith to take over from Boris Johnson as London Mayor.
In this role, Khan was the first Muslim mayor of a major city in the West, later going on to win two more terms.
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However, he has been a controversial and divisive figure, which has led to a Conservative councillor launching a petition condemning his knighthood.
It has gathered over 200,000 signatures since it was created on December 5.
During his time as mayor, he has vowed to make London a greener, less polluted city, while his introduction of Ulez has proved wildly unpopular amongst plenty.
The city’s displeasure was evident as vandals damaged and defaced Ulez cameras and signs, while protesters gathered to fight against the fee along Whitehall.
Khan has attempted to improve the city’s transport by introducing “woke” new names for the London Overground, seeking to reflect “London’s rich history and diverse communities”
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Additionally, his opponents have been quick to scrutinise his record on law and order, facing endless squabbles with the Tories on matters regarding police findings and failures to effectively and efficiently ban zombie knives.
Now Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch had previously chastised his leadership, accusing Khan of failing to take knife crime “seriously” following a number of stabbings in the city.
However, Khan has attempted to improve the city’s transport by introducing “woke” new names for the London Overground, seeking to reflect “London’s rich history and diverse communities”.
City Hall Tories leader Neil Garratt told GB News last month that the £6.3million rebrand “looks like a spectacular waste of money” and Khan was “wasting it on a vanity project”.
He added: “It’s another wrong choice from a Mayor who’s wasted eight years in office – and is now desperately seeking a legacy.”
The London Mayor will receive the honour alongside actor Stephen Fry and former England manager Gareth Southgate.
Southgate was instrumental to leading England to two consecutive European Championship finals, as well as the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, which makes him the most successful incumbent since Sir Alf Ramsey.
Meanwhile, Fry said that he was “startled and enchanted” to receive a knighthood, hoping that it would set an example that there is “always hope”.
