Sadiq Khan is the current
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current:
attuale
Mayor of London. A member of the Labour Party, he was re-elected for a third term
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term:
mandato
this May. As mayor, Khan must set the budget and direct the entire metropolitan area of London, known as Greater London. The position is different to that of the Lord Mayor of London, a non-political figure who promotes and represents the City of London, the capital’s financial district.
background
Khan was born in South London in 1970 to Pakistani immigrant parents. His father worked as a bus driver and his mother was a seamstress
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seamstress:
sarta
. He began his career as a human rights lawyer and then entered politics, becoming the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
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SPEAK UP EXPLAINS
"Ministro ombra della Giustizia". Nel Regno Unito è consuetudine che il principale partito di opposizione formi un governo alternativo che riproduca la struttura dei ministeri e dei dipartimenti del governo in carica. La funzione principale di questo ‘gabinetto ombra’ (shadow cabinet) è quella di controllare le azioni del governo e di proporre iniziative in risposta ad esse, nonché di essere pronto a fornire una valida alternativa nel caso in cui il governo perda la maggioranza parlamentare. Nel Regno Unito, i capi dei principali dipartimenti governativi sono chiamati Secretary of Estate (in italiano ‘ministri’). Esistono tuttavia delle eccezioni, la più importante delle quali è Ministro delle Finanze che si conosce come Chancellor of the Exchequer, una delle cariche più antiche (risale almeno al XIII secolo) e più potenti della politica britannica.
and the Shadow Minister for London.
Khan has faced major challenges: the Brexit vote in 2016 within months of his being elected led to an exodus of EU citizens, and fewer European arrivals in London. As a result, the London economy is estimated to be £30 billion worse off
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worse off:
peggio di prima
. The pandemic meant Londoners worked increasingly from home, and many families moved out of the capital. Recent events in Gaza have placed pressure on community relations.
BAD POLITICS
Khan has also had a difficult relationship with the UK’s Conservative government, the right-wing
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right-wing:
di destra
media, and occasionally with his own party. He believes that recent Conservative prime ministers have been “deliberately anti-London” as they think it will help them win votes in the Midlands and in the north of England: “It used to be the EU [that was targeted
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to target:
prendere di mira
], and now it’s London”, he has said. Like other politicians worldwide, Khan has also faced extremely negative campaigning and has had to fight against misinformation. When his rival for the mayorship
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mayorship:
condizione di sindaco
, Susan Hall, joined a Facebook group that contained anti-semitic and Islamaphobic comments, Khan accused her of condoning
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to condone:
approvare
racism.
LESS HATE, MORE HOPE
In his victory speech, Khan praised
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to praise:
elogiare
his team for leading a campaign that responded to “fearmongering
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fearmongering:
allarmismo
with facts, hate with hope, and attempts to divide with unity.” Among his ambitious policies of job creation, council home
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council home:
case popolari
building and crime prevention, he presented a ten-point climate action plan that includes a zero-emission bus fleet
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fleet:
flotta
, solar panels on school roofs, and a swimmable Thames
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swimmable Thames:
Tamigi balneabile
by 2030! To combat the cost of living crisis, he wants to make free school meals permanent in state primary schools and introduce ‘baby banks’ in London boroughs
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boroughs:
quartieri
where families can access free essentials for their children. He has also promised an Erasmus-style scheme
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scheme:
programma
to help London’s students to study abroad, and international students to come to London.