British leftwingers elated by Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York, with some saying it has lessons for Labour
Leftwingers in UK politics have been cheered by the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York. Here is some of the reaction.
This is from Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, who like Mamdani, is the first Muslim to be mayor of the city he governs and who, like Mamdani, has attracted particular hostility from Donald Trump.
New Yorkers faced a clear choice – between hope and fear – and just like we’ve seen in London – hope won.
Huge congratulations to @ZohranKMamdani on his historic campaign.
Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, whose politics and campaigning style have been compared to Mamdani’s, told Sky News that the new New York mayor was “much cooler than I am”. But he said he thought they shared “the same relentless focus on inequality”.
The Labour MP Clive Lewis says his party should seek inspiration from Mamdani’s win.
Mamdani’s win in New York shows courage & conviction still cut through.
He stood up to fear & corporate power and won.
There’s a lesson here for us: you don’t beat cynicism by managing decline, but by giving people something worth believing in.
Another Labour MP, Luke Charters, says Mamdani has shown has rightwing populism can be defeated.
Mamdani’s victory shows us how we can defeat right-wing populism here in the UK: deliver real solutions, not empty slogans.
The Labour MP Uma Kumaran says Mamdani’s victory shows hope has beaten hate.
From London to New York, Congratulations @ZohranKMamdani!
Our great capital cities have chosen hope and progressive vision and won
I spoke to the New York Times last week about the politics of hope over hate
Wishing you and your team all the best
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who now sits as an independent and who is one of the six pro-Gaza MPs in the Independent Alliance, says Mamdani won a seismic victory.
Congratulations to @ZohranKMamdani!
You ignited a grassroots campaign, built on the radical idea that everyone deserves to live in dignity.
This is a seismic victory — not only for the people of New York, but for all those who believe that humanity & hope can prevail.
Ayoub Khan, another Independent Alliance MP, has says Mamdani’s win has global significance.
Huge congratulations to New Yorkers and especially to Mamdani! A new dawn breaks as truth and unity overcome lies and division. The echo chambers couldn’t hold back the people’s voice. This victory of righteousness will spread across the whole globe!
This is from Shockat Adam, who is also an Independence Alliance MP.
Zohran Mamdani’s victory sends a clear message that too many forget: Politics starts with people. Always.
Congratulations to @ZohranKMamdani and all who stand for social justice, equality, and people driven change.
And Zarah Sultana, who was elected as a Labour MP last year but who is now in the Independent Alliance and is forming a new leftwing party with Corbyn, has posted this on social media.
Amy Sedghi has more reaction on our US politics live blog.
Key events
James Cartlidge to stand in for Badenoch at PMQs, as Tories welcome delay in Chagos Islands deal vote
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, will deputise for Kemi Badenoch at PMQs, Sky News reports.
He may well ask David Lammy about the treaty giving sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Yesterday he welcomed the fact that a Lords vote on the bill implementing the deal has been postponed because of Tory opposition. PA Media explained the details in a story filed last night. PA said:
A law enabling the UK handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius faces a delay after a Westminster spat that saw Tory critics accused of being “reckless and deeply cynical” in trying to wreck the controversial deal.
In a sign of the ongoing tensions over the agreement, foreign minister Jenny Chapman lambasted the Conservatives for putting Britain’s national security at risk and using the Chagossian people for their own ends having “systematically disregarded” them when in government.
Hitting back, her Tory counterpart Lord Callanan dismissed her claims as “nonsense” and levelled the charge of “strategic capitulation” at the government.
The tetchy exchanges came as the Lords debated the Diego Garcia military base and British Indian Ocean Territory bill, with members of the Chagossian community looking on.
In an unusual move ahead of the bill’s second reading debate in the Lords, the Tories put down an amendment to the committal motion, which allows the draft law to proceed to detailed scrutiny at committee stage, demanding a 30-day consultation with the Chagossian community.
In the face of a threatened defeat, the government pulled the procedure, effectively stalling the passage of the bill.
Opening the debate, Chapman told peers that the legislation “is vital for the security of our nation”.
But while proposals to probe the government and amend the legislation were welcome, she said: “Those that are designed to wreck are not about the welfare of a community, but a cynical tactic of delay and disruption.”
Callanan said the Tory amendment was not intended to wreck the bill, and would just ensure Chagossians were consulted.
31% of women say they suffered some form of abuse as a child, ONS report says
Nearly a third of women in England and Wales (31.5%) are estimated to have experienced some form of abuse as a child, along with just over a quarter of men (26.4%), PA Media reports. PA says:
The estimates have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and are the first of their kind to use an updated definition of abuse that includes emotional, physical or sexual abuse as well as neglect.
A total of 13.6 million people aged 18 years and over (29.0%) in England and Wales are likely to have experienced “any abuse” before the age of 18, the figures show.
Around 7.5 million women and 6.1 million men experienced any abuse, with prevalence higher for women across all types except physical abuse, where there was “no significant difference”, the ONS said.
British leftwingers elated by Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York, with some saying it has lessons for Labour
Leftwingers in UK politics have been cheered by the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York. Here is some of the reaction.
This is from Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, who like Mamdani, is the first Muslim to be mayor of the city he governs and who, like Mamdani, has attracted particular hostility from Donald Trump.
New Yorkers faced a clear choice – between hope and fear – and just like we’ve seen in London – hope won.
Huge congratulations to @ZohranKMamdani on his historic campaign.
Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, whose politics and campaigning style have been compared to Mamdani’s, told Sky News that the new New York mayor was “much cooler than I am”. But he said he thought they shared “the same relentless focus on inequality”.
The Labour MP Clive Lewis says his party should seek inspiration from Mamdani’s win.
Mamdani’s win in New York shows courage & conviction still cut through.
He stood up to fear & corporate power and won.
There’s a lesson here for us: you don’t beat cynicism by managing decline, but by giving people something worth believing in.
Another Labour MP, Luke Charters, says Mamdani has shown has rightwing populism can be defeated.
Mamdani’s victory shows us how we can defeat right-wing populism here in the UK: deliver real solutions, not empty slogans.
The Labour MP Uma Kumaran says Mamdani’s victory shows hope has beaten hate.
From London to New York, Congratulations @ZohranKMamdani!
Our great capital cities have chosen hope and progressive vision and won
I spoke to the New York Times last week about the politics of hope over hate
Wishing you and your team all the best
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who now sits as an independent and who is one of the six pro-Gaza MPs in the Independent Alliance, says Mamdani won a seismic victory.
Congratulations to @ZohranKMamdani!
You ignited a grassroots campaign, built on the radical idea that everyone deserves to live in dignity.
This is a seismic victory — not only for the people of New York, but for all those who believe that humanity & hope can prevail.
Ayoub Khan, another Independent Alliance MP, has says Mamdani’s win has global significance.
Huge congratulations to New Yorkers and especially to Mamdani! A new dawn breaks as truth and unity overcome lies and division. The echo chambers couldn’t hold back the people’s voice. This victory of righteousness will spread across the whole globe!
This is from Shockat Adam, who is also an Independence Alliance MP.
Zohran Mamdani’s victory sends a clear message that too many forget: Politics starts with people. Always.
Congratulations to @ZohranKMamdani and all who stand for social justice, equality, and people driven change.
And Zarah Sultana, who was elected as a Labour MP last year but who is now in the Independent Alliance and is forming a new leftwing party with Corbyn, has posted this on social media.
Amy Sedghi has more reaction on our US politics live blog.
David Lammy to take PMQs after Reeves refuses to rule out tax rises in budget
Good morning. David Lammy will get his first outing at PMQs today as deputy prime minister, because Keir Starmer is off to the Cop30 climate conference in Brazil. That means he will have the job of dealing with all the questions raised by Rachel Reeves’s speech yesterday that came close to confirming income tax will rise in the budget.
While there is considerable controversy about what measures the budget should contain, in an unusual developments leftwing and rightwing thinktanks have joined up to say that the structure of the tax system needs to be reformed. Olivia Konotey-Ahulu has the story.
The initiative has been led by the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax), a thinktank. Its director, Arun Advani, says:
The UK’s tax code is riddled with inconsistencies and distortions that discourage investment, penalise work and hold back productivity. There is widespread agreement on the need for proper reform. The upcoming Budget is an opportunity for the chancellor to look at the taxsystem as a whole, and ensure that whatever the total tax take, any changes are also serving her growth mission.
Two important reports have been published overnight. As Richard Partington reports, the Keep Britain Working review says businesses need to play a more central role in reducing health-related worklessness.
And, as Richard Adams reports, a review of England’s curriculum has recommended reducing the amount of content and emphasis on exams and instead focusing more on life skills and “enrichment”.
I will be covering reaction to both of those.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit in north-east Scotland with Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative leader.
Noon: David Lammy, the deputy PM, takes PMQs for the first time, because Keir Starmer is travelling to the Cop30 climate conference in Brazil. The Tories have said yet who will deputise for Badenoch.
After 12.30pm: MPs debate the employment rights bill, with the government planning to vote down amendments to the bill passed by the Lords last week. It is the latest round of “ping pong” before the bill clears parliament.
5.30pm: Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, gives a speech covering the party’s plans to reduce the cost of public sector pensions.
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