Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate for mayor of London, is to tell potential voters he is prepared to stand up to Jeremy Corbyn and not be his “patsy”.



Khan has been targeted as the Labour leader’s “man in City Hall” by his Tory rival Zac Goldsmith, while David Cameron has warned Londoners they would be “lab rats” for the leftwinger’s policies if Labour wins the May election.

In a speech in west London, Khan will insist he will stand up for the capital’s residents “against anyone who threatens their interests” – potentially including his own party leader.

He will say: “I won’t be anyone’s patsy – I’ll stand up for Londoners against anyone who threatens their interests. Whether it’s David Cameron or Jeremy Corbyn – if they get it wrong, I’ll say so.

“I’ll always work to get the best possible deal for Londoners.”

Khan will hit out at Goldsmith for having “no experience, the wrong values and no vision for how to make London better”.

The Tooting MP will use the speech in Isleworth to claim that Londoners are being priced out of the capital by soaring housing and travel costs.

“London is the greatest city in the world, but we’re at a crossroads. Londoners are being priced out of our city by the Tory housing crisis and the cost of commuting [and] missing out on the opportunities that London gave me. If we don’t act now, it could be too late,” he will say.

“I want to build a London in which all Londoners can afford a roof over their head and to get to work, and in which housing and transport are no longer the sources of stress and worry they are today.

“A city in which every single Londoner has the opportunities to fulfil their potential; where a kid growing up on a council estate can go on to become a lawyer, an entrepreneur, a head teacher or a doctor – providing they put in the work.”