As residents of London voted for a new mayor Thursday, polls showed
Labour Party Member of Parliament Sadiq Khan was set to emerge
victorious. The 45-year-old native Londoner has described himself as
many things in the run-up to the campaign: He is the son of a Pakistani
bus driver, a Muslim, a human rights advocate and not just a Brit but a
dedicated European who favors the U.K. staying in the European Union.
Labour's London mayoral candidate, Sadiq Khan, speaks to supporters in Canary Wharf in London, May 4, 2016. Photo: Rob Stothard/Getty Images
With the referendum on the U.K. leaving the EU
looming June 23, a so-called Brexit has become a prominent topic of
debate leading up to the London mayoral election, in which Khan is
facing off against pro-leave politician Zac Goldsmith
to become the leader of the nation’s capital. While the London mayor
exhibits limited power over the outcome of the referendum, a pro-Brexit
mayor would have been seen as a symbolic defeat both for the Prime
Minister David Cameron and for his entire pro-EU campaign, experts said.
London has historically been heavily integrated into the EU financial
and political system as well as statistically anti-Brexit.
“It’s crucial [for the EU campaign] that
Goldsmith won’t be winning,” said Charles Lichfield, an EU analyst for
risk consultancy Eurasia, saying Khan’s win is “certainly not something
that the pro-Brexiters could use.”
Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith leaves a polling station after casting his vote in London, May 5, 2016. Photo: Getty Images
Nearly 60 percent
of Londoners who responded to a recent YouGov poll said they supported
the U.K. staying in the EU. London has long been considered not only an
international capital but a European one where EU nationals from across
the continent live, work and study. With the London stock exchange and a
thriving financial services sector, the capital is a financial hub that
facilitates trade within the EU and beyond, and many citizens have
expressed fear the city would lose some of its status and economic
standing.
The debate over a Brexit centers on national
sovereignty, security and economic strength. Supporters of the U.K.
leaving the EU say the country would be better able to control its
national borders without constraints from the EU while maintaining
London would keep its economic prowess with or without the EU trading
bloc. Proponents of staying in the EU argue the country’s membership is
part of what has contributed to security and a thriving economy. The
margin between the two camps has remained tight in the weeks leading up
to the June vote, and the latest results from the Financial Times’ Brexit poll tracker
— which takes the average of recent polling data — put support for
remaining in the EU at 46 percent, and support for leaving at 43
percent.
If Goldsmith wins — a seemingly unlikely
possibility as Khan was leading according to the most recent polling
information — pro-Brexit campaigners would have been able to point to
London as a symbol of the necessity for a Brexit, arguing if the
European hub could recognize the necessity of leaving Europe, then
everyone could, Lichfield explained.
Current London Mayor Boris Johnson came out in
favor of a Brexit in February, going against the stance both of his
Conservative Party and of the prime minister, a close political ally. A
pro-Europe London mayor such as Khan would complete a
pro-European trifecta of the prime minister, the London mayor and the chancellor of the exchequer — three of the most powerful positions in the U.K., all lobbying for the U.K. to stay in the EU.
British
Prime Minister David Cameron joins students at the launch of the
“Brighter Future In” campaign bus at Exeter University, April 7, 2016. Photo: Dan Kitwood - WPA Pool /Getty Images
Khan has been outspoken in his support of the
U.K. staying in the EU, noting in particular the nearly 1 million EU
nationals who reside in London and could be forced to leave in the event
of a Brexit. While those EU nationals are not eligible to vote in the
referendum, they are allowed to vote in the local election in London and
are expected to be an important constituency.
“It is highly expected the turnout of these EU
citizens will be higher than in previous elections,” said Benjamin
Leruth, a sociological researcher at the University of Kent in the U.K.
who has studied the rise of Euroskepticism. Not all EU nationals will
vote for Khan, Leruth noted, as local issues such as transportation and
public housing have taken on greater importance.
Still, Khan has touted his pro-Europe stance
throughout the campaign and is expected to continue to lobby against a
Brexit if elected mayor, serving as yet another powerful voice warning
against the U.K. leaving the EU.
“Britain’s role in Europe is absolutely
critical for all Londoners — supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs,
and helping us keep Londoners safe,” Khan told the British newspaper the
Evening Standard in February. “Our relationship with Europe is of even
greater concern for the half-a-million European citizens in London,” he
said before adding: “If Zac Goldsmith has his way and drags London out
of Europe, they face massive uncertainty and even the prospect of having to leave London altogether.”
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