Multiracial London Guaranteed Minority Mayor In Polls

London, May 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th May, 2021 ) :One has family roots in Pakistan, the other in Jamaica: the two leading contenders for mayor of multicultural London stand out amid an anguished debate about post-colonialism and race in Britain.

The office formerly held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson oversees a budget of �17 billion ($24 billion, 20 billion Euros) along with one of the world's biggest transport networks and city police forces, guaranteeing the mayor national exposure.

Opinion polls tip the Labour party's Sadiq Khan for a clear win on Thursday, five years after he took over from the Conservative Johnson, becoming Britain's best-known Muslim politician.

"The city back in 2016 chose me to be their mayor so it shows how progressive we are," Khan, the 50-year-old son of a Pakistani bus driver, told AFP.

"I'm really hopeful about the future, because I get to mentor and help some of those coming through the pipeline," he said.

"And there's a new generation of really talented British politicians coming through from different backgrounds, who I think will accelerate the progress in the future."Khan's main opponent is the Conservative Shaun Bailey, 49, who like him grew up in social housing. Bailey notes that he would become one of Europe's most prominent black politicians if elected.

His grandfather emigrated from Jamaica in the late 1940s, part of the "Windrush" generation of Caribbean migrants who, along with South Asians, did much to rebuild London after World War II.