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Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

Sadiq Khan: You Cannot Be Popular Every Single Day in Government

Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

Global

Arts, Society & Culture

4.53.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 February 2026

⏱️ 72 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From the son of a bus driver on a South London council estate to the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital, Sadiq Khan’s story is inseparable from the story of modern London. But with that journey has come a decade at the sharpest end of British politics.

In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with the Mayor of London to trace the path from a crowded flat in Tooting to City Hall. Khan reflects on his parents’ migration from Pakistan, the racism he experienced growing up, and the teachers who helped him see that the rooms of power were not off limits. He describes the leap from human rights lawyer to MP, the gamble of running for mayor, and the reality of governing a city through terror attacks, Brexit, a pandemic and deep political division.

They discuss the resurgence of overt racism, the personal cost of public life, and why Khan refuses to let abuse dictate his politics. He speaks candidly about the backlash he faced over equal marriage, the solidarity he believes minorities must show one another, and the responsibility he feels to prove that London remains a city where progress is possible.

Attention also turns to the future of the Labour Party. As calls emerge for Keir Starmer to stand down, Khan addresses the speculation directly. He reflects on party unity, leadership under pressure and the dangers of allowing internal divisions to overshadow the broader task facing Labour. For Khan, the question is not about personalities but about purpose: what Labour is for, who it represents, and how it responds at moments when confidence wavers.

At its heart, this is a conversation about resilience, representation and the fragile idea of social progress. Can a city that once displayed signs reading “No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs” continue to move forward.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Shine Nightwalk London is a 10K half marathon or full marathon supported walk around the city at night

0:06.0

on the 19th of September to raise vital money for cancer research UK.

0:10.0

It's also...

0:11.0

Everyone walking with all their colours, twinkling away.

0:14.0

We can actually see how nice London is and London is different at night time.

0:18.0

Celebration of life and it gives hope.

0:24.5

Step towards a brighter future at shinewalk.org today to get 30% off your entry.

0:26.6

Together, we are beating cancer.

0:28.7

Teas and Cs apply.

0:31.1

This time last year, Hassan was working in sales

0:34.0

and spent his evenings gaming.

0:37.5

Now, he's working as a prison officer.

0:40.1

He's tackled cell fires, got through to some of the most challenging prisoners,

0:46.2

and helped support their rehabilitation.

0:48.9

He's done things he once thought he was never capable of,

0:52.5

but he still loves his gaming.

0:54.8

An extraordinary job done by someone like you.

0:58.5

Search prison jobs now.

1:02.2

This is a global player original podcast.

1:19.4

Hello and welcome to full disclosure, a podcast project conceived entirely to let me spend more time with interesting people than I'd ever get on the radio.

1:25.5

Although, I think for the first time ever, and I've lost count of how many of these I've done, that's not entirely true.

1:27.3

Sadie Kahn, welcome. Well, I thought the reason why it's taking your song to invite me on is because you get fed up with me just doing your monthly show. So it's like, you know, I don't want him on my full disclosure podcast. Yeah, but this is all about you. I'm just, I'm just pleased somebody pulled out and so the, the guests that were going to have them couldn't do it. So listen, let's text Sadiq TV's available.

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