Sadiq Khan: I'll stand up to Corbyn on policies that could hit Londoners and business

Sadiq Khan today pledged to “stand up for London” if the Labour leadership ever tried to hammer the capital’s businesses and taxpayers.

The Mayor said he “absolutely” would tackle John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn if they pressed ahead with policies that disproportionately targeted the capital.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Standard at the Labour party conference, Mr Khan insisted he was willing to say “boo to a goose” to the Labour leadership over taxes.

“Sometimes it’s behind closed doors, some of it is in the open,” he said.

“There are always going to be occasions where I, as Mayor of London, work closely with a Tory government and sometimes disagree with the national Labour Party. That’s part and parcel of devolved administrations.”

Mr Khan set out his concerns over Labour’s plan for a financial transaction tax which would hit London businesses.

“If you’re a business and there’s a tax in London that doesn’t apply in Paris or Berlin or Madrid or New York why would you come to London?” he asked. “In the context of Brexit it’s even more important we have a tax regime that recognises the importance of attracting businesses to London.”

He claimed the shadow chancellor now “gets it” on business, but added: “I appreciate that not all businesses will like John’s policies. There are some which may not be the flavour of the month.”

Mr Khan was also worried over the prospect of higher personal taxes under a future Labour government. “I am concerned about a lack of recognition by national politicians, of all parties, including the Labour party,” he said.

“They’re not understanding the cost of living in London, not understanding that the wage … isn’t high because of housing, transport, childcare.

“National politicians have to recognise that the consequences of policies in London are acute when it comes to cost of living. We have to stand up for London.”

The Mayor admitted the capital could lose out to the rest of the country as the political focus — and with it investment — shifted towards the north of England.

Mr McDonnell yesterday criticised “disparities” between public spending in different parts of the country and promised Labour would redress the balance.

But Mr Khan said: “I don’t think it’s us versus them. That idea is not constructive. There’s plenty for all of us.

“I want all parts of the country to have decent infrastructure.” He also pledged to push London’s best interests on the party’s Brexit policy, including staying in the single market and London getting the “lion’s share” of skilled immigrant workers.

Mr Khan criticised Labour figures — amongst them Unite chief Len McCluskey — for claiming Labour had won the election because of the Corbyn surge.

“We clearly didn’t win the general election. Theresa May is Prime Minister and when she is finally removed it will be another Tory from the Cabinet who will be PM. We lost the general election.”

He suggested Mr Corbyn could do better if given more time. “With a bit of work, with it being a level playing field, we can win,” he said.

THE Mayor’s support for the Labour leader marks a shift in tone from last year when he called on the party to ditch Mr Corbyn before it was too late, saying he had been a disastrous leader.

He suggested that Labour’s election surge — taking seats such as Kensington from the Tories — was responsible for his softened stance.

However, he warned the leadership that it would not win unless it can win over “Tory switchers” as well as younger voters: “You’ve got to appeal to the floating voter.” Mr Khan, Labour’s most powerful politician in office, claimed that he was a “team player” and had no aspirations to become next leader of the party. He revealed that he and Mr Corbyn, who he met for face-to-face talks on Saturday, texted regularly, showing the Standard a message from the party leader which said “dark suits and white shirts” attached to a picture of the two men standing together smiling.

But in a thinly veiled warning to the leadership not to interfere in his City Hall empire, he said: “Successful mayors around the world act independently from their party. Jeremy allows us to get on with it and that’s as it should be. Otherwise people would object to the command and control from the centre.”

Mr Khan said he would turn down the offer of a Cabinet job if Labour won the 2022 general election. “No, I think being a mayor is a full-time job and I would rather be a full-time mayor,” he said, adding that many of his policies would take “some years to bear fruit” in London.

But he refused to rule out returning to Parliament at some point after that. Mr Khan said he was dismayed over reports that BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg needed security to attend Labour conference.

“There is no excuse or justification for anybody to be abused let alone to be, or to feel, physically threatened.

“As a politician I may not always like what journalists say or write but I respect to the utmost their right to do so,” he said.

The Mayor added that it was “beyond the pale” that the broadcaster received so much abuse on social media and suggested it was because she was a woman.

“You compare and contrast the experience of male journalists, equally critical of the Labour Party and the leadership and they don’t get anywhere near the level of crap that she gets,” he said. @PippaCrerar