Sadiq Khan, 53, is the son of Pakistani immigrants and he is a Muslim. The mayor of London is a relatively new job. The first mayor
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mayor:
alcalde
of London was elected in 2000. Before then the British capital’s number one citizen was the leader of the Greater London Council, or GLC. Sadiq Khan is London’s third mayor. His two predecessors were certainly colourful
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colourful:
extravagantes
characters. The first London mayor was Ken Livingstone, a left-wing
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left-wing:
de izquierdas
Labour Party politician whose nickname
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nickname:
apodo
was Red Ken. In 2008 another eccentric, the Conservative Boris Johnson, succeeded him.
Sadiq Khan is probably a less colourful character, and this is a good thing. Like Ken Livingstone, he is a member of the Labour Party, but he is more moderate. He grew up in South London, in the district of Tooting. His father was a bus driver. Khan went to a local state comprehensive
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SPEAK UP EXPLAINS
Comprehensive
Escuela pública en la que se estudia desde los 11 a los 16, e incluso los 18 años. Estas escuelas ocupan hoy el lugar que en los años 70 del siglo pasado tenían las "grammar schools" (institutos) y las "secondary modern" (escuela secundaria en la que se daba prioridad a la educación vocacional más que a la académica).
. He wanted to become dentist but a teacher suggested he became a lawyer
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lawyer:
abogado
, because he was argumentative
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argumentative:
polemista
. After studying law at university he worked as a solicitor
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solicitor:
abogado
before entering politics. He later became the Member of Parliament for Tooting.
Khan certainly faces
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to face:
afrontar
many challenges
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challenges:
retos
as mayor. London has become a city of the rich. In his manifesto Khan said that the housing crisis was his “first priority.” He also said: “London is the greatest city in the world. But we are at a crossroads
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crossroads:
encrucijada
.”
