This article was originally printed in the the Evening Standard on 27th January 2012.
While the capital is home to an estimated 40 per cent of the UK's Muslim population, there are still many mysteries surrounding the faith that I follow. For I was born and raised a London Muslim.
I attended mosques and madrassas in Tooting and Balham, adding to the knowledge of Islam taught me by my family. From a young age we learned the importance of the five pillars of Islam; faith, prayer, charity, fasting - and Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, a journey every Muslim must try to make in their lifetime. So I was delighted to visit the British Museum's Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam.
This article originally appeared on Labourlist on 20th January 2012.
Ken Livingstone was trending on Twitter yesterday. That’s not a sentence you might expect to read every day, but interest in Labour’s campaign for London Mayor should not be surprising, particularly in light of yesterday’s YouGov London poll, which shows Ken Livingstone taking a lead in the London election – 51% to Boris Johnson’s 49%, after second preferences are allocated.
Compare that to the last YouGov poll that put the Tory Mayor 8 points ahead, and you can see that Labour has got something to talk about: Ken Livingstone and Labour are winning the argument on the future of London.
Next
Friday is Holocaust Memorial Day – which will mark the 67thanniversary
of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Throughout next week the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust will be hosting a wide range
of events across London to mark the day, including multi-faith
services, film screenings, exhibitions and lectures. For more information
about events taking place in London, please visit http://hmd.org.uk/events/find/london.
Parliament will be marking the day with a special debate, and I will be signing
the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Book of Commitment on behalf of Tooting
residents, as I do every year.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust are campaigning to end discrimination and
persecution through their ‘Speak Up, Speak Out’ campaign. For more information,
or to sign their pledge, please visit www.speakupnow.org.uk.
Sadiq welcomes Wandsworth Council u-turn on Battersea playground
Wednesday, 18 January 2012 17:16
Wandsworth Council have unveiled plans to maintain free access to Battersea Park Adventure Playground. Commenting, Sadiq Khan, who campaigned against proposals to charge for access said, "I welcome this u-turn by Wandsworth Council and would like to pay tribute to the parents and campaigners who have secured this victory.
"Wandsworth Council's original proposals to charge for entry were unfair and would have hurt local families.
"No child should be denied access to their local playground by an admission fee.
"However, parents will be concerned that under these revised proposals there could be no adult supervision provided by the Council.
"Battersea adventure playground is not an ordinary playground and the Council will need to convince parents and carers that they aren't taking risks with children's safety."
Visit to Palestine and Israel
Friday, 13 January 2012 09:42
In December Sadiq visited Palestine and Israel as part of a trip organised by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, and th Council for Arab-British Understanding.
The purpose of the visit was to see firsthand the situation of Palestinians living in the West Bank, but also to meet Israelis and politicians and leaders from both sides to gain a deeper understanding of the protracted challenges the region faces.
On the trip he met the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authorities, Salam Fayyad, and Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Moshe Ya'lon, and Prime Minister's offical spokesperson, Mark Regev.
Sadiq has written about his visit for the New Statesman, which you can read here.
Mayor’s fare increases will hurt Tooting residents
Monday, 09 January 2012 14:26
As thousands of local residents returned to work this week, Sadiq Khan MP has hit out at a fourth year of above inflation fare increases from Mayor Boris Johnson, as new research shows that fares in London are now costing over a quarter of minimum wage take home pay.
The new fares, introduced on 3rd January, will again hit Tooting residents increasing the cost of day to day activities like getting to school and work, doing the shopping or visiting the doctors at a time when many are struggling to make ends meet.
Under this current Mayor the cost of a single bus ticket has risen by a massive 50% since 2008, whilst the price of a monthly zone 1-2 Travelcard is up 21% costing £230.40 per year more, and the price of a zones 1-6 Travelcard is up 20%.
New figures from the House of Commons library show that this means an office manager in central London earning £25,600 living in zone 1 or 2 would have to work for three weeks and three days before the cost of their travel was covered. A cleaner on the minimum wage (£11,730) would have to spend 27 per cent of their take home pay in order to pay for a weekly zones 1-6 Travelcard.
A newly qualified nurse working in inner London (£25,411) and living in Zone 4 would have to have to work for 5 weeks and a day before they'd paid for their travel, whilst a shop assistant earning the London Living Wage (£16,013) would have to spend 21 per cent of their take home pay to be able to afford to pay for a weekly zones 1-6 travelcard.
Tooting MP and former Transport Minister Sadiq Khan said: “The Mayor of London should be putting Londoners first, not squeezing public transport users and pushing prices up for many of the poorest people in London who rely on bus services.
“Four years in a row of inflation busting fares rises is taking its toll on Tooting residents, who are struggling to make ends meet.
“This is the wrong time to be taking money out of people’s pockets – the Mayor should be helping the London economy, this will damage it further."
Sadiq has called on Wandsworth Council to do more to revitalise Tooting town centre.
Earlier this week, retail expert Mary Portas published her review into the future of High Streets – and identified a series of recommendations to renew town centres.
The report comes out in the same week that unemployment figures reached a 17-year record high, undermining the government’s expectation that the private sector would absorb job losses following government cuts. Tooting has more people unemployed people claiming Jobseekers Allowance now than this time last year, in each of the three age ranges (16-24, 25-49 and over 50s).
Sadiq's Christmas letter to the Wandsworth Guardian
Friday, 16 December 2011 14:51
To the Editor,
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the Wandsworth Guardian’s readers a Merry Christmas, and thank the Local Guardian for coverage of local events over the last year. The prevailing economic conditions, cuts to local services and riots on our streets don’t make for happy reading, but it is important that local people have a voice and are aware of the impact government cuts are having on their community, be it attacks on youth services, day centres for older residents or local libraries.
We’ve also seen the good side of our community on many occasions. The marathon runners raising money for local charities, the residents who went to Clapham Junction to help tidy up after the disorder there and the excellent work local organisations and businesses such as The Brick Box have been doing to revitalise our local economy.
So even in a difficult year like this, there’s a lot to be thankful for. It’s one of the reasons I am so proud to represent this area in Parliament.
Merry Christmas to you all, and a Happy New Year.
Sadiq Khan MP
Winner of Sadiq's Christmas Card competition revealed
Thursday, 15 December 2011 08:44
Last week Sadiq visited Furzedown Primary School to reveal the overall winner of his 7th Christmas Card competition.
Furzedown School pupil Neeraj Rughoo was the overall winner - you can view his excellent design here - and his design will appear on the Christmas card he sends out to local residents, community organisations and businesses.
The judging panel, which included Rev Barry Nichols of Holy Trinity Church, Councillor Leonie Cooper, Father George Mampillil of St Anselm’s Church and officers from Tooting Fire Station, were astounded by the talent displayed by the young local artists, many of whom are lucky to attend schools with specialist art programmes.
Promoted by Tooting Labour Party on behalf Sadiq Khan and Tooting Labour Party, all of 273 Balham High Road, London, SW17 7BD. Hosted by 34SP.com, 349 Bury Old Road, Manchester, M25 1PY.
Sadiq has written for The Guardian on the impact planned changes to legal aid will have on some of the most vulnerable in our communities.
