Hackney MP ‘scoping out’ run for City Hall if Sadiq Khan stands down

The MP whose seat takes in the Hackney wards of Woodberry Down and Brownswood is preparing a second run for mayor of London, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has been told.

David Lammy, who became one of the borough’s three MPs when boundary changes in July 2024 folded the two wards into his Tottenham constituency, held a fundraising dinner last night (Wednesday 9 September) through the party affiliate SME4Labour.

Money from the tickets, which ranged from £80 to £150, went directly to the hosts. But party sources said the event was a testing ground for a run at City Hall should Sir Sadiq Khan decide not to seek a fourth term.

Lammy addressed the rumours directly at the event, suggesting the dinner was not to drum up support for a mayoral campaign but to raise resources to defend his own parliamentary seat at the next election.

He has still not explicitly ruled out standing in 2028. Speculation has followed him since he left government in July, when the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, entered Downing Street.

Blackstock Road

Lammy’s most visible intervention in the Hackney part of his seat came in July, while he was still deputy prime minister, when he opposed plans for a 24-hour adult gaming centre at 3 Blackstock Road and backed the resident-led Bets Off Blackstock campaign. Hackney Council had twice refused the plans, but the Planning Inspectorate overturned that decision on appeal in April.

“I have now promised my constituents that I will do everything I can as their member of parliament to ensure licensing is not permitted for this premises,” he said at the time. The premises sit on the Hackney side of the parade, leaving the borough’s council as the deciding authority, and the gambling licence has yet to be determined.

He was also in Woodberry Down last month, appearing alongside the mayor of London at West Reservoir, a site now at the centre of a residents’ dispute over the borough’s improvement works there.

Hackney’s other two MPs are Diane Abbott, in Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and Meg Hillier, in Hackney South and Shoreditch, neither of whom has been linked to the mayoral vacancy.

City Hall

The former London Assembly member has tried for City Hall once before, ahead of the 2016 election, but lost to Khan in Labour’s selection process.

Some in the party have downplayed his chances even if he formally declares. He would likely face a fierce contest with other London MPs, including Dawn Butler and Rosena Allin-Khan.

One source said: “I am not sure he can even count on support from his local party in Tottenham for his future ambitions in London.”

Others are more supportive, saying he has the credentials for the role if the mayor announces he will not seek a fourth term.

“I expect he’d go for it as soon as Sadiq announces he will stand down,” one source predicted. “He’s out of government now so it makes sense. Lammy has been very impressive since he was first elected.”

Lammy did not respond to several requests for comment.