How a bus driver's son became the first three-term Mayor of London

Countries & Cities · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Sadiq Khan rose from a council flat in South London to become the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital. His decade-long tenure has been defined by aggressive transport reforms, a unique political evolution from human rights solicitor to life peer, and a record-breaking electoral streak in London.

Born in 1970 to Pakistani immigrants, Sadiq Khan grew up on the Henry Prince Estate in Earlsfield. His early life was shaped by his father’s work as a bus driver and his own experiences with racism, which led him to boxing at the Earlsfield Amateur Boxing Club. Initially aspiring to be a dentist, he pivoted to law after a teacher noted his argumentative personality. He spent years as a human rights solicitor, representing cases ranging from police misconduct to the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, before entering Parliament in 2005.

Khan’s political career has often been marked by internal party friction. As an MP, he was a vocal critic of the 2003 Iraq invasion and later served as a key ally to Ed Miliband. His transition to the mayoralty in 2016 saw him implement significant urban changes, including the Ultra Low Emission Zone and the Hopper bus fare. These policies were part of a broader effort to modernize London’s transport, though they were balanced against the fiscal pressures of a £1.6 billion government bailout during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His mayoralty is notable for its longevity and its recent milestones. In 2024, Khan became the first London mayor to secure a third term. His administration has overseen a decline in the city's homicide rate, which reached its lowest level in decades by 2025. Following his long service, he was elevated to the House of Lords in 2026 as Baron Khan of Tooting, cementing a trajectory that began in a three-bedroom council flat and ended in the upper echelons of British governance.

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