Iain Dale, MD of Biteback Publishing, has acquired world rights to Sadiq: The Making of a Mayor and London’s Rebirth by George Eaton, political editor of the New Statesman.
When Sadiq Khan was elected London mayor, his victory immediately became a global phenomenon. As the first Muslim leader of a major western city, he symbolised the capital’s diversity and pluralism. For the bus driver’s son and council estate boy, it was the culmination of a remarkable journey.
Throughout the mayoral campaign, Khan was attacked by his Conservative opponent Zac Goldsmith and Prime Minister David Cameron as an ally of Islamist extremists. Many believed that the Labour candidate would ultimately be defeated. But he withstood the charges to win by a landslide, achieving the largest personal mandate of any politician in UK history. Within days, he found himself at war with Donald Trump over his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US. The London mayor had become a truly international figure.
A year on from Khan’s election, this book will tell the story of his rise to City Hall. With exclusive access to the mayor, it charts his tough south London upbringing and his ascent through the worlds of law and politics. Khan’s values, faith and policies are all explored. Sadiq: The Making of a Mayor is an unrivalled portrait of the man shaping the world’s pre-eminent city.
George Eaton said: "The story of Sadiq Khan is one of the most fascinating and inspiring in British politics. It deserves to be told at length. I wrote several months before Khan's election that his victory would be an 'event of international significance' and so it proved. As the first Muslim leader of a major western city, he has already become a politician of global status. In the domestic sphere, as the first Labour mayor of London for eight years and his party's most senior elected politician, his role will be similarly pivotal. I am delighted to be working with Iain Dale and Biteback, the country's pre-eminent political publisher. The tale of Khan's ascent, and that of the remarkable city he leads, is one I will relish telling."
Iain Dale said: “Sadiq Khan’s decisive victory in the London Mayoral election is the latest episode in what has been a remarkable life and political career, and I’m delighted that Biteback will be publishing George Eaton’s account of his inspirational story.”
Sadiq will be published in May 2017 and supported by a major press campaign.
For more information please contact victoria.gilder@bitebackpublishing.com or call 020 7091 1260