ANKARA
Two Labour MPs on Wednesday announced they would be standing for the London mayoralty in next year’s election.
Diane Abbott and Sadiq Khan, who both represent London constituencies in parliament, announced their bids in London’s Evening Standard newspaper.
Khan, a former minister in the last Labour government, said he wanted to be seen as “Mr London… A working class boy done good.”
Abbott, who entered parliament in 1987 as the U.K.’s first black female lawmaker, said: “Now, more than ever, our city needs a mayor who will stand up for the interests of those increasingly left behind.”
The office, which oversees the government of the British capital, was reintroduced in 2000 following the abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986.
Current Mayor Boris Johnson, a Conservative, is not standing for re-election after two terms in office. He was elected to parliament in last week’s general election.
Labour MPs David Lammy and Tessa Jowell had previously announced their candidacies for the directly elected post. Transport expert Christian Wolmar has announced he will stand as an independent.
