London swears in first Muslim Mayor

May 09, 2016 (LBO) - The United Kingdoms Labour party candidate Sadiq Khan was sworn in as London's first Muslim mayor last weekend. Having won 1,310,143 votes, Khan received the largest personal mandate of any politician in UK history. New mayor Khan said he will “put London first” as he looked to move on from the divisive campaign run by his rival Zac Goldsmith but added Muslims had been discouraged from seeking public office by the Tories’ campaign. The son of a London bus driver who grew up in the capital, he is the third person to become the mayor of London after fellow Labour politician Ken Livingstone and Conservative Boris Johnson. Khan's victory offered some cheer for the Labour party after disappointing performance in elections across Britain in the wake of a row over anti-Semitism in the party failed to dispel questions over the veteran socialist's leadership. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was among the first to tweet his congratulations to "fellow affordable housing advocate, @SadiqKhan. Look forward to working together!" Following Khan's victory on Friday night, Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted the hashtag #YesWeKhan, telling the new mayor: "Can't wait to work with you to create a London that is fair for all". Outgoing mayor Boris Johnson said: "Many congratulations to Sadiq on securing a huge mandate to do the best job in British politics. I wish him every possible success." Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith also wished the new mayor "well". Cameron, who is grappling with deep splits within his party ahead of the June 23 referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, said the party's showing across the elections was "remarkable".