Kwasi Kwarteng: Sadiq Khan triumphs for now but London is not always a Labour city
Political fortunes are like the financial markets — whatever the prevailing mood, nothing stays the same for ever
It’s easy to be wise after elections. One of the most depressing sights recently has been other Tories beating up Zac Goldsmith for his mayoral campaign. Obviously, nobody said anything during the campaign itself. After he lost, many Tory “experts” started putting the knife in. Politicians love doing this.
It’s also annoying to hear all the platitudes about London being a Labour city, with the Tories having about as much chance of winning in London as a Hindu has of becoming a grand Ayatollah in Iran. We are told that changing demographics, a progressive liberal culture, the cosmopolitan nature of the city means that Conservatives can never win.
This is obviously all complete rubbish. I remember being told after the 1992 general election that Labour could never win a majority in Britain ever again. Once the economic collapse of Black Wednesday had damaged the Tories, Blair went on to win the next general election with a majority of 179 in 1997.
In 2013 I remember a Labour shadow cabinet minister telling me ......
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I fully expect to see a Conservative mayor in London before too long. A Labour party dominated by deluded Trotskyists will rapidly alienate the capital. Khan himself is well aware of this. That is why he is distancing himself from Corbyn as quickly as he can. It is absurd to suggest that mere demographics will consign the Conservatives to perpetual opposition in our great city.
Kwasi Kwarteng is Conservative MP for Spelthorne
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