Sadiq Khan dropped a major hint about his future political ambitions this morning, refusing to deny he has his eye on No. 10 Downing Street. Speaking to American news outlet CNBC, the London Mayor suggested he could do a better job as PM than his mayoral predecessor Boris Johnson.
Asked whether he wants a fourth term in City Hall, Mr Khan replied: “I’m enjoying being the mayor of London. I think I’ve got the greatest job in the world. Is only about a year ago where I won that historic record breaking mandate, so let’s wait and see.” Asked whether he could “see [being Prime Minister] in your future”, he answered: “Well, my message is, if you’ve seen what a mess he made of being Prime Minister, you don’t mess near the office of Prime Minister.” The clear refusal to rule out ambitions to become Prime Minister will be greeted with fear in Downing Street, with Keir Starmer anxious about attempts to oust him.
Mr Khan has been making a number of overtures in recent months to win support from Labour’s grassroots, including calling Brexit a “mistake” and aiming insults at Donald Trump.
According to Bet365, Mr Khan is only the 11th most likely person to be the next Labour Party leader, though that could jump if he were to return to the Commons in a by-election.
Boris Johnson returned to Parliament in 2015, a year before he concluded his final term as London mayor in 2016.
Last week it was claimed plotting Labour MPs have given Keir Starmer a year to turn things around, after a chaotic u-turn on Winter Fuel cuts.
He’s also facing a rebellion of as many as 150 Labour MPs on welfare cuts amid concerns from his own troops that the government is going in “the wrong direction”.
One formerly loyalist MP told the Independent: “How did the Tories do it? There has to be a way to replace the leader.”
A week ago Angela Rayner, the grassroots favourite to replace Sir Keir, said she would “never” consider running for the position.
She told Laura Kuenssberg: “I do not want to run for leader of the Labour party. I rule it out.”
“I’m absolutely focused on working with the PM and the cabinet. This is the honour of my life.”
According to the latest YouGov poll, a small majority of Britons believe Keir Starmer should resign at Labour leader and let someone else take over.
It comes as a new poll suggests voters believe the Government is handling almost every single policy area badly, with the exception of terrorism and defence.
