Lord Sadiq Khan has definitively ruled out accepting a role in Andy Burnham’s Cabinet after being handed a peerage by outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Speaking to GB News, the Mayor of London declared he is “very clear” that he will remain the capital’s Mayor and will have “access to Government” through the House of Lords.
After being named by Sir Keir in his list of 16 Peers, Lord Khan was pressed by GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope on whether he would consider becoming a minister in the new Labour Cabinet.
Immediately shutting Christopher down, Lord Khan responded: “No, I’m quite clear, I’ve got the best job in the world but also in politics, being the Mayor of London.
“One of the advantages I’ll have being in the House of Lords is access to ministers, access to Andy Burnham’s Government, so we can lobby for the resources, the investment that we desperately need.”
Asked what Mr Burnham can learn from being a former Mayor of Manchester ahead of his entry to No10, Lord Khan said the feeling of people in Manchester is “similar to the feeling in London”.
He told GB News: “The conversations I have every day with Londoners are similar to the ones Andy’s had in Greater Manchester, including Makerfield. People are frustrated. They’re fed up.
“They think that my profession doesn’t work for them, we’re not on their side, and he’s talking about bringing about a circuit breaker, to try and change the way we’ve done stuff.”
Lord Khan added: “Andy’s learnt a lot as a member of the Cabinet, Shadow Cabinet, as the Mayor of Greater Manchester, he’s been both an insider and an outsider, and I think he gets the challenge we face but has the solutions as well.”
Pressed by Christopher on whether Mr Burnham can “turn the economy around”, the London Mayor expressed hope that he will “unshackle” Britain’s small businesses.
He said: “What I want to hear from Andy as Prime Minister is how he’s going to unshackle those small businesses, those medium sized businesses, entrepreneurs to create more wealth, more jobs, more prosperity.
“I want to hear from Andy how he’s going to release powers from the civil servants in Whitehall, love them as we do, to leaders across the country.”
Highlighting Mr Burnham’s plans for devolution, Lord Khan made clear: “I want to hear from Andy how people in the North West, the North East, Scotland, Wales and London will have more say over our destiny.
“This word devolution, it’s very simple. It’s taking back control, which your viewers are all about.
“We were promised we’d have more control, where is it?”
In his speech today after being confirmed as the party’s new leader, Mr Burnham declared that now it Labour’s “last chance for change”.
He said: “I will work relentlessly to build a culture of one Labour team, because change starts with us. We won’t beat Britain’s new Right if we are consumed by in-fighting and pulling in different directions.
“I will be a leader for the north, the south, the east and the west, plus Scotland, Wales and for Northern Ireland.
“Yes, the north of England has given me so much, everything, in fact. In return, I have sought to give it the strongest voice I could.
“That was my job, but now I do the same for everywhere, because I see the same challenges everywhere I look.”
