Jeffrey Archer: Sadiq Khan will be the next Labour Prime Minister Jeffrey Archer believes London Mayor Sadiq Khan will be Labour’s next Prime Minister, not Jeremy Corbyn. The former Conservative MP […]

Jeffrey Archer believes London Mayor Sadiq Khan will be Labour’s next Prime Minister, not Jeremy Corbyn.

The former Conservative MP and best-selling author said he thought Mr Corbyn would win this month’s Labour leadership contest, but that Mr Khan would be the next Labour figure to lead the country.

Archer, who ran against Ken Livingstone in the 2000 London mayoral election, told the Media Focus podcast: “Although I am convinced Jeremy Corbyn will win on 25 September, and I’m convinced he will win comfortably, I think the next Labour Prime Minister will be the Mayor of London.”

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He said of Mr Khan: “He’s had a wonderful start. We ran a bad campaign against him, it was ill-informed.

“And he has had a very impressive start. And Boris got very near to being Prime Minister. And I suspect Mr Khan will be the next Labour Prime Minister.”

Khan’s criticism of Corbyn

Last month, Mr Khan urged Labour voters to ditch Mr Corbyn and vote for Owen Smith in the party’s leadership contest.

He said Mr Corbyn had “failed to win the trust and respect of the British people”, after distancing himself from the Labour leader during his mayoral campaign.

Mr Khan, who was chosen over Tessa Jowell by Labour members to be named on the same ballot as Mr Corbyn, said the Labour leader had “failed to organise an effective team”, and criticised his performance during the EU referendum debate.

“I’m afraid his stance the day after [the referendum] – calling for us to leave the EU immediately – demonstrates to me why I think Owen Smith is the right leader for the party, and why I think he’s the best chance we’ve got to wing the next election,” he said.

Labour’s polling

Mr Corbyn is expected to beat Mr Smith by a comfortable majority when the result of the Labour leadership is announced next weekend.

Under Mr Corbyn, Labour claims it has become the largest political party in Europe with a membership of over 500,000.

On the first anniversary of Mr Corbyn’s election as leader, Labour trailed the Conservatives by an average of 11 points in the polls – the worst the party has ever experienced in opposition since modern polling began in the 1950s.