Leftist London mayor hopeful plans 'pick 'n' mix' strategy to better Boris

By William James and Richard Mably LONDON (Reuters) - Chicago's infrastructure bank, Bill de Blasio's drive for technology skills in New York and Delhi's bid to improve air quality - these are all ideas London's left-leaning mayoral hopeful wants to use to help Britain's capital compete with its global rivals. To become London's mayor, a job overseeing a 17 billion pound budget in a city that accounts for more than a fifth of the British economy, Sadiq Khan knows he must court the big business leaders who make the capital's 'square mile' one of the world's leading financial centres. With that firmly in mind, Labour Party lawmaker Khan, one of the two leading candidates for the mayor's job in an election due next year, carefully presents himself as far removed from Labour's new hard-left leader, Jeremy Corbyn. "I've got to be my own person. I'm not Jeremy Corbyn's patsy," Khan said. "If you look at mayors, not just in London, but all around the world, they've got to be independent-minded." The next mayor will face the risk of a British exit from the European Union, a growing population that is straining housing and transport infrastructure and the increasingly difficult task of keeping London safe from Islamist militants. Khan, a Muslim born in London to Pakistani migrant parents, also has to convince voters to elect him over Zac Goldsmith, the centre-right candidate cast from the same wealthy, elite-educated mould as the popular incumbent, Boris Johnson. In comparison to 'Boris', whose shock of blond hair and bumbling showmanship have made him a globally recognised figure, Khan's unshowy focus is on unlocking the potential of the mayor's job. "One of my biggest criticisms - and I've got many - of Boris Johnson is that he's given the impression that mayors can't do much," he said. "That the job of the mayor ... is to rock up and cut a ribbon and to just act the buffoon." "In London, there's a lot a mayor can do." Well-spoken, relaxed and chatty, with the occasional dropped 'T' that gives away his south London upbringing, he is pitching himself as the local boy who made his way up through sheer hard work and wants to repay the city that made it possible. He cites Wellington Webb, former mayor of Denver, who predicted that the 21st century would be the "century of cities", and says London needs to watch its back to stay ahead of fast-growing rivals in China and elsewhere. But, after listing half a dozen cities around the world that he has studied, he insists that there is no single leadership model that defines his bid for control of London. "I'm a pick 'n' mix guy," he says with a smile. NOBODY'S PATSY Khan is equally keen to defy any attempt to pigeon-hole his political identity. The former human rights lawyer nominated socialist Corbyn to become leader of the Labour Party earlier this year, a move that made some London businesses wary that he might adopt Corbyn's cool approach to the EU and his appetite to rein in capitalism. But Khan didn't vote for Corbyn in the end, and he has been quick to distance himself from the 'anti-business' tag that has been applied to Labour's new left-wing leader. "It's not possible to be the mayor of London and not be pro-business, it's not possible to be the mayor of London and not be pro-EU," Khan said, leaving his preference in the upcoming referendum on Britain's continued EU membership in no doubt. Raised in a three-bedroom flat with his parents and seven siblings, Khan bought his first property in 1994 aged 24, but says that is a distant prospect for the current generation. "I worry about today's Londoners, whether they'll have the chance to fulfil their potential," he said. At the heart of that concern, and underpinning Khan's election platform, is his plan to tackle the city's chronic shortage of housing that is driving up rents and inflating house prices out of the reach of ordinary citizens. "It's a tragedy," he said, rattling off the average house price in London - 540,000 pounds - the average monthly rent - 1,300 pounds - and the average age of a first time buyer - 39. Speaking quickly and passionately he sets out plans to give Londoners "first dibs" on a new home to stop foreign investors buying housing before it is built, to set up a not-for-profit letting agency and to increase the supply of affordable homes. NOT 'THE MUSLIM MAYOR' Interviewed days after Islamist militants killed at least 129 people in multiple attacks across Paris, Khan is frank about the security challenges that come with the London mayor's job. "What happened in Paris could easily have happened in London," he said. But he said he was confident there would not be a backlash against London's Muslim community of more than a million people, describing the city's response to the Paris attack as a template for others, based on tolerance, respect and integration. So what does that mean for his prospects of becoming mayor? "My motivation isn't to be 'The Muslim Mayor'," he said. "I'm not going to pigeon-hole myself based on my faith." But he concedes that electing a Muslim mayor in a city where Islamist militants killed 52 people in 2005 bomb attacks and hacked a soldier to death on a street in 2013 would be a significant moment. "The message we could send is potentially huge," he said. (Editing by Gareth Jones)