London Mayor's Fourth Term in Focus as Cabinet Minister Rayner Backs Khan

A clear voice inside the Labour Party has backed London Mayor Sadiq Khan for a fourth term. Communities Secretary Angela Rayner told The Standard: I love working with Sadiq Khan. Every time you speak to him, he is Mr London. Asked whether that meant support for another term, she said: If he wants it, I am absolutely 100% behind Sadiq. He has been a tremendous Mayor for London.

No decision yet, but the 2028 race is already warming up

Khan himself has not decided whether to run and is expected to decide next year whether to seek the Labour nomination for the mayoral election in May 2028. Rayner praised Khan for championing London as a vibrant, multicultural city and described the two as real partners on rough sleeping. Reports have also named several possible Labour successors, including Dawn Butler, David Lammy, Rosena Allin-Khan and Steve Reed, a sign that positioning for 2028 is already under way.

The other side of the numbers

On the other side, a YouGov poll of 1,141 London adults taken from July 29 to August 5 this year found 56% thought Khan should stand down and 24% thought he should run again. City Hall figures show the mayoral precept for a Band D home in the 32 London boroughs has risen from 276 pounds in 2016-17 to 510.51 pounds in 2026-27, an increase of about 85%, most of it funding the Metropolitan Police. The minister's public backing, set against those figures, makes Khan's decision one of the most watched questions in London politics over the coming year.