After greater than 20 years as a Labour politician, Mr Khan, who was elected to a 3rd time period as London Mayor in 2024, was honoured for political and public service.
The knighthood means he can now use Sir in entrance of his title.
Reacting to the information on social media, he stated: “Really humbled to have obtained a knighthood within the King’s New 12 months’s Honours.
“I couldn’t have dreamed when rising up on a council property in south London that I would at some point be Mayor of London. It’s the honour of my life to serve town I like.”
Right here’s a rundown of Mr Khan’s profession in mild of the information.
The mayor did not come from a rich household. Raised on a housing property in south London, he was one among eight kids born to Pakistani immigrants who labored as a seamstress and bus driver.
He initially turned inquisitive about politics whereas attending faculty, and on the age of 15, he joined the Labour Celebration.
With the aim of changing into a dentist, he pursued A-level research in science and Maths. However he rapidly had second ideas and selected to check regulation on the College of North London. He instantly put his diploma to make use of, working as a trainee solicitor at Christian Fisher in 1994 underneath human rights lawyer Louise Christian.
He met and married Saadiya Ahmed, a fellow lawyer and coincidentally additionally the daughter of a bus driver, in the identical yr. He had two kids along with her, Anisah and Ammarah. Inspired by native activist Bert Luthers, who was born in Guyana, he additionally began his 12-year time period as a Tooting councillor.
Three years later, on the age of 27, he was promoted to fairness associate, and the corporate modified its title to Christian Khan.
He labored on a number of high-profile instances throughout this time, together with serving to to overturn an exclusion order in opposition to US political activist Louis Farrakhan that was externally upheld on enchantment and acquiring compensation for lecturers and attorneys who had been subjected to racial discrimination.
In 2004, he unexpectedly left his authorized follow and informed the Legislation Gazette that “when you’re in authorities, you are a legislator and you’ve got the chance to make legal guidelines that may enhance issues for thousands and thousands of individuals”.
Mr Khan, one among 5 new ethnic minority MPs elected in 2005, fought for and gained the marginal seat of Tooting for Labour.
When Gordon Brown took over at Quantity 10, Mr Khan was appointed as an exterior whip earlier than being promoted to communities minister.
In 2009, he was promoted to the place of Division for Transport, when he turned the primary Muslim man to serve within the Cupboard. There have been solely 4 Muslim MPs on the time.
In 2010, Labour was out of presidency for the primary time in 13 years after the occasion didn’t receive sufficient votes.
However Mr Khan continued to succeed, he was chosen as Ed Miliband‘s marketing campaign supervisor and assisted in main Mr Miliband to an surprising victory within the management contest. As a reward, he obtained the submit of shadow justice secretary.
Mr Khan may need been sidetracked by Labour’s dismal efficiency within the 2015 election and the short resignation of Mr Miliband, whom he had assisted in taking the management, however he discovered a brand new objective for his campaigning efforts. He stated per week after the election that he would run for mayor underneath Labour and depart the shadow cupboard.
And he beat all odds in 2016, when he obtained 57 per cent of the vote.
Along with being the primary Muslim and ethnic minority mayor of the capital, he turned simply the third ever London mayor.
Following Jeremy Corbyn‘s resignation because the chief of the Labour Celebration and the 2019 UK common election, there have been rumours that Mr Khan would run within the triggered management contest. With the intention to run for a second time period as mayor of London, which he said he was “completely” extra inquisitive about, he excluded himself from the management race. Mr Khan gained a second time period as mayor of London within the 2021 mayoral election.
The query of whether or not Mr Khan will run for a 3rd time period or as a substitute run for election to the Home of Commons within the hopes of changing into the chief of the Labour Celebration has been raised after he was re-elected for a second time period. Mr Khan, nonetheless, declared his intention to hunt a 3rd time period.
Mr Khan turned the primary particular person to be elected to 3 phrases as Mayor of London when he defeated Conservative opponent Susan Corridor in the 2024 mayoral election.
“The choice to broaden the ULEZ London-wide was a troublesome one, however crucial to save lots of lives, shield kids’s lungs and assist cut back the danger of Londoners creating bronchial asthma, dementia and a number of different well being points.” Khan stated on the time.
Reactions to receiving a knighthood
The information has obtained blended reactions, even sparking a debate on social media.
Praising the choice, The Standard’s Ross Lydall stated: “Mr Khan is by a ways essentially the most conscientious: he’s at all times finished his homework, mastered his temporary, is aware of precisely what he desires to say.”
One consumer wrote on X: “Congratulations Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan what’s subsequent? 10 Downing Avenue? Is there something this man cannot obtain?”
Nonetheless, former Conservative MP Anna Firth informed GB Information that “it’s the folks of London that deserve a knighthood for placing up with Sadiq Khan”.
“Inform that to the 15,000 households who’ve had a sufferer of knife crime. He has utterly failed on knife crime and to maintain the streets protected. What has this man really finished to deserve a knighthood? He is failed all people,” she added.
A variety of customers on X joined Ms Firth with comparable disparaging feedback.
One consumer stated: “Who else thinks London Mayor Sadiq Khan doesn’t deserve a knighthood?”
One other added: “I’m glad all of us collectively agree that Sadiq Khan doesn’t deserve a knighthood. Shouldn’t even be within the job.”
