Sadiq Khan tells Jeremy Corbyn to ‘walk the walk’ as he gives his first keynote speech to Labour Party conference as London Mayor
LONDON MAYOR Sadiq Khan has challenged Jeremy Corbyn to get Labour back into power in order to reverse “six years of damage” to public services by the Tory government.
Speaking to the Labour conference, Khan told delegates that having Labour in power would make the biggest change to people’s lives.
In his first keynote speech since becoming London Mayor in May, Khan listed his achievements to prove what Labour can do when in power.
Khan said: “We see the reintroduction of grammar schools, which will leave too many children behind and deepen inequality in our country.
“We see that the government has no plan for leaving the EU. We see that in 2016, someone’s pay and career prospects can still be defined by their gender.
“We see that the government has no plan for leaving the EU. We see that in 2016, someone’s pay and career prospects can still be defined by their gender.” Sadiq Khan
“We have seen six years of damage to the services that people rely upon – to the NHS, to schools, to social care.
“The people who need us the most are those who suffer the most when Labour is not in power.”
Khan said that it was the party’s responsibility to get Labour back into power, starting with winning the mayoral elections in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham.
“It’s time to put Labour back in power. It's time for a Labour government. A Labour prime minister in Downing Street. A Labour Cabinet. Labour values put into action.” Sadiq Khan
The former Tooting MP said: “Because with Labour in power in cities and regions we can show that our party can be trusted to govern again. With Labour in power we can demonstrate that we can make a real difference to people’s lives, and with Labour in power, we can prove that we’re ready for Government.
“It’s time to put Labour back in power. It's time for a Labour government. A Labour prime minister in Downing Street. A Labour Cabinet. Labour values put into action.”
Khan listed action on climate change and social integration as some of his achievements since beating Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith to become London Mayor in May.
The former shadow justice secretary said: “Once again, it's only with Labour in power that we can make a real difference, with world-leading new approaches, like an ultra low emission zone stretching from the north circular to the south circular, and by putting in the resources and effort required to create the first clean bus areas in Britain to ensure that we only buy truly clean buses from 2018. All of this is only possible when Labour is in power.”
“With Labour out of power, hate crime is rising – whether anti-semitism, Islamaphobia, homophobia or any other form of this vile crime.” Sadiq Khan
Khan added: “With Labour out of power, hate crime is rising – whether anti-semitism, Islamaphobia, homophobia or any other form of this vile crime.
“Extremism is a growing problem – whether in the muslim community or on the far right – and the gap between the richest and the poorest in our society continues to grow.
“But we can only take action to make our communities more cohesive and to strengthen social integration if Labour is in power.”
“It's only with Labour in power that we can have leaders who are proud to call themselves a feminist.” Sadiq Khan
Earlier this month, Khan appointed top criminal lawyer Matthew Ryder QC to the position of deputy mayor for social integration, and London’s first economic fairness team to fight for workers’ rights.
Khan went on to say: “It's only with Labour in power that we can have leaders who are proud to call themselves a feminist, that we can have real gender pay audits and real plans to tackle pay inequality or ensure that at least half of the people we appoint are women.
“It's only with Labour in power that we can ensure that minority communities have a real sense of belonging, so they are as resilient as possible to extremism and radicalisation. It's only with Labour in power that we can build bridges rather than walls – to bring our communities together, not keep them apart.
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Picture courtesy of David Thomson
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