With Corbynism now a smoking ruin, Sadiq Khan is frantically trying to distance himself from the Corbyn project. I say not so fast. Let’s take a look at Khan’s record on this: (THREAD)
Sadiq Khan was one of the 35 MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn to be leader of the Labour Party. He even tweeted “Good to see @jeremycorbyn has made it onto the ballot for next @UKLabour leader.”
Khan knew in 2015 that Corbyn had a long association with bad actors like Hezbollah and the IRA, and that Corbyn was far-left on the economy. The measure of the man was known. Then again, Khan needed to win selection in London.
During selection Khan shared offices with Corbyn’s hard-left Momentum group and Khan used his connections with Corbyn to win the mayoral selection campaign. Khan’s team spent weeks ringing undecided voters in London reminding them that Khan backed Corbyn.
A source from Khan’s mayoral campaign team even bragged to a paper that Corbyn’s voters were backing Khan. “Almost all Jeremy Corbyn voters are voting for Sadiq Khan. There is a 90% crossover,” they said.
Khan has also confirmed there “would be many, many, many, many occasions where I agree with Jeremy”, and last February praised him for being “spot on as usual” about strikes. When asked if Corbyn would be an asset to his re-election campaign, Khan replied: “Absolutely”.
Even after the bloom had long gone off the Corbyn rose and the anti-Semites started creeping out of the Labour woodwork, Khan told the Daily Telegraph that he didn’t regret nominating Jeremy Corbyn: “No, I don’t regret it.”
When brave women like Margaret Hodge and Luciana Berger were sticking their necks out on anti-Semitism - even to the point of leaving the party - Sadiq Khan was being a loyal foot soldier.
Corbyn’s lieutenant @HackneyAbbott admitted that Sadiq is ‘Jeremy Corbyn’s man’. “It’s important that in May we vote for Jeremy Corbyn’s man to be Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.”
During the recent election Khan went across London and tried to give Labour the numbers it would need to make Jeremy Corbyn Prime Minister. The same man he now says was not a ‘credible candidate’ to be PM.
Bottom line: Khan will use you when you’re hot and drop you when you’re not. More than most, Jeremy Corbyn is a Sadiq Khan creation. No amount of after the fact spinning can erase the record. -30-
