Sadiq Khan is on a four-day trip to New York during which he hopes to hit the headlines by expressing opposition to Donald Trump regaining the US presidency.
The London mayor, who was described by Mr Trump as a “stone cold loser” during a presidential visit to the UK in 2019, is expected to use a series of media interviews to endorse current vice-president Kamala Harris.
But he was immediately accused by his Tory rivals of clocking up the “air miles” while championing the environment.
Susan Hall, who he defeated in May to become the first mayor of London to win three terms, posted on X: “Just love the amount of air miles used up by people ‘confronting the climate crisis’!”
I see @SadiqKhan is in New York this week in his capacity as chairman of C40 Cities –(a global network of mayors united in their aim to confront the climate crisis) - Just love the amount of air miles used up by people ‘confronting the climate crisis’!
— Susan Hall AM (@Councillorsuzie) September 23, 2024
He will look to link a discussion about the summer riots in the UK and the need for economic migration with concern at the policies he expects Mr Trump to follow should he win a second term in November.
....Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019
Mr Khan opted to make the trip rather than prolonging his stay at the Labour party conference in Liverpool.
He is making his fourth mayoral visit to New York. He was most recently there in September 2023 for a climate change summit.
He was also in the Big Apple in May 2022 and first visited in September 2016 as part of a wider tour of the US and Canada four months after he was first elected.
City Hall said Mr Khan would be “banging the drum” for London and seeking to attack more US sporting events, tourists and investment to the capital.
He wants London to stage the American wrestling event WrestleMania and for NBA basketball games to return.
He also has a “longer-term ambition” to bring the Superbowl to London for the first event outside of the US.
He will also speak at an environmental conference as part of his role as the joint chair of the C40 group of world cities committed to pursuing a “green” agenda.
The City Hall Conservatives group said in a statement: "Far from just pensioners, it seems even Sadiq Khan has been left out in the cold by this Labour Government as he jets to New York to lecture us on the environment.
"While Labour meets for its first party conference in Government for 15 years, Mayor Khan looks a minor figure making one brief appearance then leaving before the main event even starts. He should be mingling with the Labour grandees and fighting London’s corner."
Neil Garratt, the City Hall Conservatives leader, said: "Sadiq Khan has spent eight years blaming every problem on the government not giving him enough money, but this week Keir Starmer told him clearly that Labour will not give him any more money.
"Mayor Khan should get on with the job of running London. Instead, he’s fled to New York. London deserves so much better.”
Mr Khan is understood to be accompanied by three senior aides. City Hall has also sent the mayor’s in-house photographer and cameraman to capture images of Mr Khan’s trip.
All the main City Hall correspondents from London media organisations were invited to cover the trip in person but none are thought to have travelled to New York for cost reasons.
Mr Khan will speak at several events: the Concordia Annual Summit, the Climate Pledge Summit and the NYC Climate Week Hub.
He will deliver the keynote address at a Clinton Global Initiative session on “Leveraging Technology and Nature for Equitable Urban Resilience”.
Mr Khan is expected to describe the Londonwide Ulez (ultra-low emission zone) as being “even more successful than expected”, in terms of accelerating the switch to Ulez-compliant vehicles by motorists.
He will also promote his plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street, which won Government support last week. He hopes this will boost its tourist credentials.
He is due to visit an ecological project in the Hudson river and pick up ideas for his aim of making the Thames swimmable in a decade.
Mr Khan said: “With so many key business leaders and politicians in New York this week, this really is the perfect time to promote London on the global stage – whether as an exciting tourist destination or the host of the world’s best sporting events.
“It is also an important week for global leaders to restate their commitment to tackle climate change, to learn from other cities and nations and showcase how London remains at the forefront of global action.”
C40 executive director Mark Watts said Mr Khan’s “unwavering dedication to creating healthier and greener cities sets a powerful example for city and national leaders around the globe”.
