LONDON — Londoners will elect a successor to flamboyant Mayor Boris Johnson on Thursday, as polls suggest the high-profile job of running the British capital will be filled for the first time by a Muslim.
The Labour Party’s Sadiq Khan, the son of a bus driver from Pakistan and a Muslim, has held a consistent lead over Conservative Party rival Zac Goldsmith in polls.
It appears to be a two-man race between the two members of Parliament. Local elections are taking place across England on Thursday, and lawmakers will be elected in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Goldsmith, 41, at first glance appears to be cut from the same cloth as New York-born Johnson: Both are members of Parliament for the ruling Conservative Party, they attended the exclusive Eton College and even have blond hair — although Goldsmith’s locks have turned gray.
Fewer similarities exist between Khan, 45, and Goldsmith. In contrast to Khan’s humble origins growing up in government-subsidized housing in the Tooting neighborhood of south London, Goldsmith is the son of the late billionaire financier James Goldsmith. Yet, the Conservative candidate does have a Pakistani connection: His sister, Jemima, is the former wife of Pakistani politician and former cricketer Imran Khan. They divorced in 2004.
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