Hope Over Fear; Unity Over Division

“Hope over fear; unity over division”

After a technical hitch delayed the results of the London Mayoral Election until around midnight last night, Zac Goldsmith’s legacy was already apparent. His campaign was to be consigned to the history books as one which set out to divide and conquer, instil fear into millions of Londoners and fight a ‘dog whistle’ campaign using religious bigotry as a means of seizing power.

The result indicated a resounding win for Labour’s Sadiq Khan, who came home with 56% of the vote (surpassing that crucial 50% mark) whilst Goldsmith lagged behind with only 43%. As he is the son of a bus driver and raised on a council estate, most would see Sadiq Khan as the perfect candidate to empathise with the working classes and make London affordable for Londoners once again. His humble background provides little subject matter for marauding opposition politicians. Of course, that is if he weren’t a Muslim. Time and time again, the Conservatives have unashamedly accused Sadiq Khan of sharing a platform with extremists and supporters of Islamic State. Whilst this is not untrue, and Sadiq Khan has shared a platform with what he calls “some pretty unsavoury characters”, his reasons for doing so were not because he is a terrorist sympathiser but because he was a former chairman of human rights group Liberty and a human rights lawyer. Khan has never affiliated himself with extremists intentionally or maliciously; all he has done is stand up for human rights and do the job he was employed to do. The Conservatives have taken this way out of context, and built a profile of fear and distrust, with lasting effects for London’s communities and other politicians.

Of course, it’s important not to lay the blame directly with Zac Goldsmith himself. He seems to be a rather courteous man, although he lacks the charisma and downright foolhardiness of his predecessor, Boris Johnson. Plus, he’s a complete stitch up; just look at him pretending to like Bollywood films. His campaign as a whole, and his political party, ought to own up to a campaign that even Tory ministers have labelled as “appalling” and “offensive”.

London is typically a left-leaning and very tolerant city which prides itself on diversity. The city was able to see through Mr Goldsmith’s divisive campaign and elect a mayor they believed in to lead London forward. Who knows – maybe he’ll become just a popular as Boris; or maybe Boris should give him the number of his stylist – after all, it’s probably Boris’s hair which has made him so iconic.