London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been informally guiding Zohran Mamdani, the socialist candidate in New York’s mayoral race, as he attempts to secure victory this November.
Last month, Mamdani sent shockwaves through the US political establishment after defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary contest.
According to Times, Khan and Mamdani have been in direct contact, with the pair exchanging messages and speaking by phone. People close to the London mayor have also been liaising with Mamdani’s campaign team remotely.
Officials familiar with the discussions suggest that Khan has encouraged Mamdani to reposition himself closer to the centre to broaden his voter base and keep centrist Democrats on side.
Mamdani’s political rise is reminiscent of Khan’s own path to the mayoralty, where he initially won Labour’s nomination by outflanking rivals from the left, before shifting toward the centre to beat Conservative opponent Zac Goldsmith in 2016.
A London City Hall source told the newspaper: “The primary race is very different from the [mayoral election]. He needs to moderate or he could lose the more centrist Democrats.”
Supporters of Mamdani argue that his leftist agenda, centred on addressing the cost-of-living crisis, could inspire Democrats beyond New York. One campaign source said: “Ditch the pollsters, listen to your neighbours and get back into the damn streets.”
“As resident of the United States, I’m not going to let this communist lunatic destroy New York,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘hot’ and ‘great’ again, just like I did with the good ol’ USA.”
Sadiq Khan has previously invited Donald Trump for a “good curry” on Brick Lane when he visits the capital for a state visit.
The London mayor said it would be good to show him “the joys of our diversity” after he accepted his second state visit during the prime minister’s trip to Washington on Thursday.
When asked about his past comments towards Trump, the Labour figure and long time critic of the US president insisted his position would not change. However, he still agreed for the visit to go ahead despite Trump’s oval office meltdown with Volodymyr Zelensky.
He told LBC: “If he does come to London, what I’d invite him to do is spend time at Trafalgar Square, maybe on St Patrick’s Day or Lunar New Year, or Eid in the square, or Diwali in the square.”
“I think it is important to actually bust some of these myths. I think it’s important to show those people who believe the contrary that diversity is a strength, not a weakness.”