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“This is a very significant break from neo-liberalism,” said Ashok Kumar an American associate professor of political economy at Birkbeck, University of London.
“He had clearly articulated, universalist policies – policies of wealth redistribution that benefit everyone. Not just this idea of trickle-down economics, and the enticement of big business.”
Mamdani’s key policies include rent controls, accountability for bad landlords, universal childcare for children up to five years old, tripling the production of affordable housing, and a 2% tax on New Yorkers making more than £1 million per year.
So should Starmer turn to the left to recoup voters he’s lost since last year’s election?
“Yes, absolutely,” says Kumar. “You can’t just speak in vague terms about something like affordability. You need concrete policies like wealth taxes.”
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If Mamdani was a member of the UK Labour Party, he probably would have lost the whip by now – just like the Labour MPs who voted against a cut to winter fuel payments and to lift the two-child benefit cap.
It’s perhaps unsurprising then, that the prime minister has remained silent on the result. Nonetheless, members of his party have welcomed it.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that New Yorkers had chosen “hope” over “fear”.
“Inspirational campaign and victory for @ZohranKMamdani in NYC,” tweeted Wes Streeting, secretary of state for health. “Lessons for progressives the world over.”
Other Labour figures were less effusive. The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, told Sky News that she “doesn’t follow American politics”.
Asked if Labour could learn anything from his democratic socialist policies, she demurred: “I congratulate him on his win, it’s obviously up to the people in New York to decide who they want to represent them, we’ll fight our own election campaign in due course.”
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Keir Starmer, who took to X to pay tribute within hours of the assassination of right-wing firebrand Charlie Kirk, was yet to acknowledge Mamdani’s historic win on the same platform at time of publication.
These lessons are clear, says Kumar: “The politics of the US can’t be disarticulated from the politics of the UK. The same discontents are present in both places.”
Still, it’s worth remembering that the result is borne of its urban environment, says Parth Patel from IPPR. The same dynamics won’t necessarily play out in, say, the North of England.
“I don’t think it’s New York specific, but I think it’s metropolis specific. I think it’s a phenomenon you see in big cities. There’s a new politics from that kind of place… I would be reticent to draw that out across the nation state.”
Regardless, Starmer could learn from Mamdani’s style of politicking: “Don’t look like a robot,” Patel continues.
“Speak directly to voters and people is a big lesson. And Mamdani spent a lot of time on the streets and a lot of time on kind of social media, and it’s just directly addressing the people of New York. He doesn’t come across as a robot. Make people laugh, make them cry, or harness their anger. The right are quite good at anger, Mamdani made people laugh.
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The New York Mayor-elect ran a slick social media campaign: viral posts included him “I’m freezing… your rent,” he said, before diving into the waters off Coney Island in a suit and tie.
But beyond viral videos, he managed to “articulate a vision” – something mainstream progressive parties like Starmer’s Labour have struggled to do.
“We’re unable to say what we stand for and how we want to transform society. It is a core function we are no longer prosecuting,” he said.
“I haven’t heard really any left-wing politician, at least since the pandemic, talk so clearly and simply about the change they want to see in the world. And Mamdani does that, and he does that in an accessible way.”
What does Zohran Mamdani’s win mean for the Greens?
Zack Polanski was among the first UK politicians to congratulate Zohran Mamdani – and to draw parallels to his own policy platform.”
“Zohran’s campaign was his determination to make New York a city everyone can afford to live in… his success will resonate throughout the world. A story where no one is left behind.It’s time to write that story across England & Wales too.
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In a later post on X, he accompanied further congratulations with a link to Green Party membership.
Does Mamdani’s success point to a demand for leftist policy? Kumar thinks so – and it could benefit Polanski.
“Polanski is a consistent anti war tax wealth expand social programs guy,” he said.
“He represents the left of the Green Party, and he represents basically identical politics to Zoran. That program, New York proves, is electorally viable.”
Of course, the UK’s first-past-the-post system makes breakthroughs far harder than in a one-off, personality-driven mayoral race.
“But things are very fast moving. The direction of travel for the Labor Party is full of collapse. A left alternative is wanted.”
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