Breathe review – Sadiq Khan’s climate emergency manifesto is a breath of fresh air
Sparked by his own struggle with asthma, the London mayors memoir-cum-climate action guide is a refreshing antidote to the politics of cynicism and division S adiq Khans first book is ostensibly structured as a self-help title in the vein of, say, Stephen Coveys 7 Habits of Highly Effective People . It tackles his commitment to effective climate action and presents obstacles fatalism, apathy, cynicism, deprioritisation, hostility, cost and gridlock and then addresses how to overcome them. But it is also a memoir in which each one of the seven chapters concerns a new episode in the story of Khans political career, framed around the personal awakening that took place in the aftermath of his 2015 selection as Labours candidate for London mayor. Aged 43, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with asthma, which his GP explains has become an increasingly common consequence of poor air quality in the city. He is further inspired by the campaigning of activist Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, whose daughter, Ella , died of asthma aged nine in 2013 because of exposure to south-east Londons toxic air. He recognises connections between air pollution, global heating, public health and racial inequality. Then, in 2016, when he is challenged in a campaign seen by many as explicitly racist by the Conservative partys environmental champion, Zac Goldsmith, he comes out on top and an alternative approach to environmental action starts to form that aligns itself with the principles of social justice. This informs Khans approach to cleaning Londons air, protecting the citys most vulnerable communities from the worst carbon emissions and ordinary Londoners from the harshest economic costs of change. As a memoir, Breathe is quite thin it offers few insights into the inner life of Londons mayor. But as a window into his political operations, it is significant, arriving roughly a year before Khan will seek a historic third term at City Hall the prize that has eluded all of his predecessors. Should he win, it would be no mean feat. A year ago, his approval rating was down to 38% . He avoided open selection to secure the Labour candidacy last December, but he has been criticised inside the party for a perceived lack of political vision. He will also have to overcome changes to the electoral system that are expected to swing things in the direction of his (yet to be selected) Tory rival. Voter ID reforms are likely to significantly reduce the turnout of BAME voters who Khan has been able to count on in the past (around 2.5 million Londoners have no driving licence, a large percentage of whom are black and Asian people), while the change, for the first time in a London mayoral election, to a first-past-the-post mechanism means he wont benefit from second-preference votes. In 2021, almost all of Green candidate Sian Berrys roughly 200,000 first-preference votes went to Khan, taking his lead over Conservative Shaun Bailey from 5% to 10%. This combination of factors suggests a closer contest next time, in which Khans ability to persuade Green voters not to split the left vote but to back him from the outset could be a decisive factor in determining the outcome. Breathe sets out his stall, furthering the son of a bus driver narrative that drove his first successful mayoral campaign in 2016 . Now he portrays himself as an accomplished and pragmatic statesman who has harnessed Londons power to advance the climate agenda. He covers his key achievements in office including the delivery on the citys declaration of a climate emergency in 2018, the introduction of the ultra-low emission zone [ULEZ] in 2019, Londons designation as the first national park city in 2019 and leadership, since December 2021, of C40 Cities , a mayors network, which now speaks, Khan writes, for over 700 million citizens [around the world] and one quarter of the global economy and through which Londons climate policies have gone global. A further term, he suggests, could see the fruition of plans to make public transport better and more appealing... plans for a further 3m mass-tree-planting initiative and to introduce a new, more comprehensive road-user charging system. As ideas, these are not the most visionary, and Breathe will not score Khan points for political imagination, but the strategic lessons he imparts do mark him out as an exemplar for an age of climate breakdown and progressive governance. The book succeeds as a manual, too, for how to elevate the public discourse and deserves to be widely read, not least by a Labour leadership that has shown itself increasingly open to falling back on questionable campaign lines . Ahead of a general election that is likely to take place before the end of 2024, Khans book reminds us that this approach didnt work for Goldsmith at the ballot box. Ultimately, as its title promises, Breathe is a breath of fresh air, offering an antidote to cynicism and demonstrating the power of a politics that aims to bring people together in the search for solutions. Breathe: Tackling the Climate Emergency by Sadiq Khan is published by Cornerstone (16.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com . Delivery charges may apply