Sadiq Khan responded to Zack Polanski in Urdu during a London Assembly session, appearing to poke fun at the Green Party leader’s recent use of the language in a by-election campaign video.
The London mayor switched to the South Asian language while answering Mr Polanski, who had spoken Urdu in a video aimed at voters in Holborn and St Pancras.
Mr Polanski currently sits in the London Assembly but is seeking election to the House of Commons as the Green Party candidate for Holborn and St Pancras.
He will contest next month’s by-election in the north London constituency, which was triggered by the resignation of former prime minister Keir Starmer as its MP.
“I thought, as the member is so proficient in Urdu, that I would speak in Urdu,” Mr Khan said after using the language to answer Mr Polanski during Mayor’s Question Time on Thursday.
The Labour mayor added: “I was worried the question may be in Urdu. And for those Urdu speakers, I apologise if I spoke with a Russian accent.”
The exchange followed the release of Mr Polanski’s by-election video, in which he addressed voters in Holborn and St Pancras in Urdu.
Urdu is Pakistan’s national language and is widely spoken across South Asia.
Sadiq Khan appeared to mock Zack Polanski by answering his question in Urdu at the London Assembly
The London mayor used Urdu after the Green Party leader spoke the language in a recent by-election campaign video
In the video, Mr Polanski urged residents to support him as the Green candidate in the Westminster contest on 8 October.
He later published a French-language campaign video, apparently seeking to troll critics of the Urdu recording, including Conservative shadow ministers.
The Green Party leader called on voters in the north London constituency to “votez pour les verts” next month.
By choosing French, Mr Polanski used a language spoken by considerably more people in Holborn and St Pancras than Urdu.
The 2021 census recorded 2,488 residents whose main language was French, compared with 156 who spoke Urdu.
Urdu is spoken mainly in Pakistan and India. However, Indian residents make up 3 per cent of Holborn and St Pancras, while Pakistani residents account for less than 1 per cent.
Around 10 per cent of voters in the constituency are Bangladeshi, although Bangladesh’s official language is Bengali.
Responding to Mr Polanski’s Urdu campaign video, Tory local government spokesman Katie Lam wrote on X: “Here’s the leader of the Green Party, campaigning in Urdu.
“Attempting to appeal to group-based grievances by campaigning in foreign languages is poisonous.
“We must ban this practice for good. Politics in our country should be conducted in the language of public life.”
Fellow Tory MP Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, told Times Radio: ‘I’m concerned to see this campaigning in other languages.
‘Politicians should be campaigning in the languages of the United Kingdom. So for instance in London, I’d be expecting the candidates to be campaigning in English, not in other languages.’
A Green Party spokesman told Our News Outlet: ‘The Greens believe that democracy doesn’t discriminate by languages spoken. Many people are bilingual.
‘Holborn and St Pancras is a true reflection of the diversity of London and of our country and we choose to embrace and celebrate that.
‘If we want to speak to people who speak Urdu, it makes sense to speak to them in Urdu. We’re proud to reach voters in as many languages as possible.’
Sir Keir resigned as MP for Holborn and St Pancras at the beginning of this month, despite him having previously said he would stay in the Commons until the next UK general election, which is not due until 2029.
Mr Polanski is hoping to build on the Greens’ momentum from the May local elections, which saw the party placed second behind Labour in council wards within the constituency.
He is likely to be the most serious electoral threat to Labour’s dominance in the seat, which the party has held since it was created in 1983.
