Khan says the Greens and Ukip should be included in TV debates

Sadiq Khan, Shadow Justice Secretary and Shadow Minister for London has said that he thinks the Greens and Ukip should be included in the TV debates.

Khan, who is also head of Labour’s anti-Green Party strategy, said in an interview with the New Statesman, published tomorrow:

I think they should happen and I think they [the Greens and Ukip] should be included. I’m relishing them, I think it’s an opportunity for the country to see Ed Miliband, to hear and see his passion, to hear and see the vision he has for the country and to hear and see that he thinks the best of the British public. I’m not sure why Cameron is so scared, I don’t understand why his advisers are bottling it.

What the British public deserve to see is all the leaders, and that includes Natalie Bennett, by the way, having a debate about their vision for the country, their analysis of the last five years, an explanation from Cameron and Clegg how the deficit is still £200bn more than they predicted. Cameron’s scared to have a press conference, so you can understand why he’s scared to have a debate with Ed Miliband.”

This comes after proposals towards the end of last year, which saw Ukip, but not the Greens included in one round of the debates.

Khan, who it’s also thought will throw his name in the hat to be Labour’s London Mayoral candidate explained why he was yet to do this, despite the fact that others (such as David Lammy, Tessa Jowell, and Diane Abbott – who has said she will run but not formally declared this) have :

“Up until the general election’s done and dusted, all our energies have to be focused on it. London is best served by a Labour government; anybody who’s distracted by campaigning, by doing anything for themselves as an individual is letting down London. Not letting down the Labour Party, not just letting down themselves, letting down London.

I understand why people have declared they want to be candidates, I understand why people are chasing money for their campaigns, I understand all that. But I tell you what, you’ve got to ask yourself the question ‘Is what I’m doing, more or less likely to help secure be a Labour government after 7 May?’ If the answer is more likely, all well and good, but if you’re distracted running a campaign, how is that helping the Labour Party?”

Evidence over the Christmas period showed that Labour didn’t have enough people of colour as candidates in key seats. Following on from this, Khan reiterated his support for shortlists for people of colour (also known as Black and Minority Ethnic [BAME] shortlists):

“My personal opinion and the formulation that I have, and it’s not Labour Party policy, is a hybrid system, so you have some seats in which either half the candidates can be women and/or ethnic minority men or women. But obviously we’re now into the long campaign, time doesn’t allow for an eight-week selection process. I think the NEC needs to think about the fact that as a party we’re at our best when we look like the communities that we seek to represent.”