Sadiq Khan has finally announced, after years of speculation, he is going for Boris Johnson’s job.

Wandsworth Times:

Time for a change: Mr Khan has been Tooting's MP for a decade 

Mr Khan announced he was stepping down from the shadow cabinet on Monday, May 11, a move widely believed to be paving the way for his mayoral bid.

The MP for Tooting, who ran Labour’s general election campaign in London, resigned as Labour’s shadow justice secretary and shadow minister for London.

Today he has finally admitted his ambitions to be the Mayor of London, after much speculation.

He told London Live: “Well I’m really excited today announce that I want to be Labour’s candidate to be mayor of this great city.

“London has made me, my family, who we are. I wouldn’t have got to go to university if it wasn’t for the teachers at my school.

"My parents wouldn’t have been able to have a council property if it wasn’t for the generosity of this city. I went on to become a lawyer and run my own business and this city has made me who I am.”

The Wandsworth Guardian asked Mr Khan about his rumoured ambitions in March but he skirted around the question, citing his priority was making sure Tooting had a Labour MP.

In last week’s general election Mr Khan held on to Tooting, the area in which he was born and grew up in.

Mr Khan beat Conservative Dan Watkins by 2,823 votes – a slight increase on his majority in the 2010 election in which he accrued 2,524 votes.

Wandsworth Times:

Another campaign: The MP for Tooting has spoken out on a number of issues and taken part in multiple campaigns in Wandsworth 

A letter from Wandsworth Labour Party said: "It’s been a difficult week for the Labour Party – but Sadiq Khan winning Tooting for a third time was a bright light in the darkness. Tooting was one of the few constituencies that returned a higher Labour vote share than 2010 in this General Election, and we are proud to have played our part in securing this victory.

"Yet with a Tory majority government, the people of Tooting, and London, face tough times ahead. The problems that we see locally - thousands hit by the bedroom tax, record numbers accessing food banks, spiralling rents and an NHS creaking at the seams - are replicated across our city. The people of Tooting, and across our city, need a Labour Mayor who can make our city fairer while making it more dynamic.

"As local councillors we know that Sadiq has the energy, the experience and the determination to take our city to places it otherwise could not go. That is why we welcome and support his decision to seek selection as Labour’s candidate for Mayor of London"

Mr Khan has been the MP for Tooting for 10 years, since the 2005 general election, and is entering his third term as a Wandsworth MP.

He joins other London MPs Diane Abbott and David Lammy, former MP Dame Tessa Jowell and author Christian Wolmar in the competition to be Labour candidate in 2016.

His general election opponent Dan Watkins, who was beaten by 2,823 votes, said: "David Lammy and Diane Abbott were honest with their constituents in the run up to May 7th, saying they would be running for Mayor, trusting their constituents to make a fully informed decision. And Tessa Jowell stood down as MP so that she could run for Mayor.

"Unfortunately the residents of Tooting weren't given all the facts for general election day, meaning that they elected an MP who now won't be around to tackle the considerable challenges that Tooting will face in the months to come.

"Sadiq Khan has serious questions to answer. Was Tooting really his number one priority last week, given a few days later he got to work on running for Mayor? Why wasn’t he honest with his constituents in the way that Abbott, Jowell and Lammy were?"

Wandsworth Times:

Ambitions: Mr Khan with the first elected Mayor of London Ken Livingstone 

More to follow.

Send your comments to ssleigh@london.newsquest.co.uk