These days Mr Khan has it off to a ‘T’ and will often remind us that he’s English. It’s something that happened to him after Brexit. I assume he does it for political reasons since the son of two Pakistani immigrants in a city which, although in England, is not exactly English. And, as Mr Khan himself has said, “London is an international city”.
Since the summer of 2023, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has publicly affirmed his English identity on at least two notable occasions:
St George’s Day 2024 (April 23): In an op-ed for the Evening Standard, Khan expressed pride in his multifaceted identity, stating: “I am proud to be a Londoner, English, British, of Pakistani ethnic origin and Asian heritage, European and of Islamic faith.” (He doesn’t explain why he thinks he’s English – no claims to English heritage, no English ethnicity, no English religious beliefs)
Ramadan Lights Switch-On Event (February 2025): Speaking at this event, Khan emphasized the importance of embracing multiple identities, saying: “I think it’s really important for young people growing up in this city to be proud to be Londoners, to be proud to be English, proud to be British, but also to be proud to be Muslim.”
He never used to be like this. Below he identifies his ethnicity as being from overseas. The English are an ethnic group whose homeland is England, not overseas. In 2008 he wrote in a Guardian article:
Again in 2008 he wrote to fellow Muslims, identifying them as British, rather than English:
“I challenge British Muslims to accept that, as strongly as they feel about Iraq or counter-terrorism measures, poverty and inequality have the biggest impact on the lives of the majority of British Muslims and do the most to prevent potential being fulfilled. Even if your passion is foreign policy, your ability to help people thousands of miles away is made much greater if you are an active citizen and player at home in the UK. British Muslims will know they have understood the challenges facing them when they realise that childcare should matter more than Kashmir. And they will know the Labour party finally understands them when they hear politicians say that addressing the problems of British Muslims is about fairness, and not favours or fear”.
In 2009 he flew to Pakistan, concerned about US drone flights targeting Pakistan’s Taliban:
No word there about him identifying as English. Sadiq Khan is identified as a member of the “Pakistani diaspora” in a 2012 study by Bradford University ”In 2007 there were around 257 councillors and mayors of Pakistani origins and in 2009 there were 4 members of parliament, two were cabinet minsters, Shahid Malik and Sadiq Khan, and one peer Lord Nazir Ahmad.” This 12-page academic paper doesn’t even contain the word ‘English’ in its description of Pakistanis living abroad.
Post Brexit, he had other plans about being British and in 2020 called for Londoners to be able to retain EU citizenship, suggesting that this could be stamp in their passport, or a separate document and in 2023 wrote:
Nativism
Nativism is the idea that a country belongs to the natives, rather than to people who might like to live or work there. Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, talks disparagingly of nativism, and has even claimed that London was built by immigrants. If only he were to speak so highly of the English! He is though careful not to put the words ‘English’ and ‘nativism’ in the same sentence. He’s happy that Palestine be recognised as a state for the Palestinians, but the idea that Europe belongs to Europeans, doesn’t work for him.
This is particularly relevant in England, since the majority of the UK’s immigrants live in England. Calling yourself ‘British’ isn’t much of a stakehold in a political union of four nations, none of which you’re indigenous to. Hence the need to downplay and dilute the idea of English identity in England.
https://x.com/SadiqKhan/status/1227615796421111808
In June 2023 London’s mayor called for more immigration into England:
As the English population goes into steady decline, Khan calls for more immigration to replace them. He sees no need for the English to be part of his diversity mix. Remember this from August 2023:
The Office for National Statistics says that the English are an ethnic group and part of the “White British” ethnic group, but apparently the English aren’t real Londoners, not in his London anyway.
Conclusions
As an ethnic term, “English” is exclusive — not everyone born in England or residing there belongs to this ethnic category. Being born here qualifies you as British, not English. It confers citizenship, not ethnicity or nationality. Politicians and public figures (e.g., the Mayor of London) may sometimes refer to themselves as “English” in a civic or national sense.
Any other reason why he has done it? He may be thinking ahead, because he has broader post-mayoral ambitions, and while ignoring the English might work in London, he’ll need some English support if he moves back into Westminster politics. On the other hand he once claimed that Rishi Sunak was English because he had a Labrador, as if that were somehow evidence. Either way his statements about English identity demonstrate a propensity towards cultural and ethnic erasure,
If your claim to being English is that you live here, then could Sadiq Khan claim to be Scottish if he moved to Edinburgh? Or could a French national living in London claim to be English?
A French national living in London may be a Londoner or a resident of England, but calling themselves “English” would be socially and culturally unconvincing, and formally incorrect. There is a core inconsistency in the logic of inclusive national identity claims. Let’s break it down. If the claim is: “Sadiq Khan is English because he was born and lives in England. Then logically: If he moved to Scotland, why wouldn’t he then be Scottish?”
Here are the logical options:
Option 1: National Identity as Geography-Based
If “English” just means “living in England”, then “anyone living in Scotland is Scottish”, regardless of heritage. – That would mean Sadiq Khan “could call himself Scottish” after moving north — but this would be “culturally implausible”, and likely rejected by Scots and English alike.
Option 2: National Identity as Ancestry-Based
If “English” means “descended from the English people”, then Sadiq Khan (of Pakistani heritage) “is not ethnically English”, even if born in London.
Option 3: Identity as Self-Definition
Under the “purely subjective model”, anyone can identify however they like — English, Scottish, Martian. – But this collapses meaning: if identity is just personal preference, then labels like “English” or “Scottish” become vacuous.
Answer
It’s Option 2. “English” has to be exclusive, or it has no meaning. This might contradict inclusive, civic definitions used in modern political rhetoric, but while civic inclusivity sounds good, we do have a British identity fulfilling that purpose, and if civic identity is not applied consistently (e.g. to Scotland), it becomes a political slogan, not a coherent standard.
