Sadiq Khan after a decade in office: What has he achieved in London?

On May 5, 2016, Sadiq Khan was elected Mayor of London, becoming the first Muslim to assume the mayoralty of a European capital, before succeeding in retaining his position for three consecutive terms, an unprecedented achievement in the city's history. A decade after he took office, Le Figaro newspaper presented an assessment of his tenure's outcome, based on five key indicators, which showed a clear overlap between successes and failures.

Security Indicators: A Mixed Picture

In November last year, Donald Trump described Khan as a "disaster," considering London a city of crime. However, official data reflects a mixed picture, as the city recorded in 2025 its lowest level of homicides since 2014, with 97 cases, despite a population increase of about half a million people since the start of his term. The homicide rate also reached 1.1 per 100,000 people, lower than major cities such as New York, Berlin, and Paris.

In contrast, stabbings rose by 66%, and shoplifting surged by 94%, prompting British media to describe the situation as a "major crime paradox."

The Persistent Housing Crisis

London remains among the most expensive cities in the world, with the house price-to-income ratio reaching 10.6 in 2025, the highest in the United Kingdom. Despite this indicator stabilizing compared to 2015, rental prices have risen by 36%, reaching an average of 2,280 pounds per month. The housing file is the biggest challenge in Khan's record, as the pace of new home construction declined by 84% over the past decade, from 33,782 units to just 5,547, while the annual need is estimated at about 88,000 units.

The London Mayor's office also achieved only 44% of its affordable housing targets for the period 2021-2026, amid sharp criticism from opponents. On the other hand, Khan is credited with freezing public transport fares between 2016 and 2020, before introducing limited increases later, and this policy contributed to an actual 10% reduction in prices since 2016, compared to annual increases of nearly 8% under his predecessor Boris Johnson. Transport for London also announced achieving financial balance by the end of 2025.

Notable Environmental Improvement

On the environmental front, nitrogen dioxide levels in London fell by 49% between 2016 and 2023, compared to 35% in the rest of England, driven by policies such as low emission zones and bus electrification. However, the report notes that air quality improvement also included other areas, raising questions about the extent of the impact of local policies alone.