Zohran Mamdani wins for New Yorkers – and all of us?
JVL Introduction
How many of us outside New York or even the USA were excited by the possibility of Zohran Mamdani being Mayor of New York? I certainly was and now he IS the Mayor elect and will take up his post on January 1st. Here is a link to Mamdani’s Victory Speech: “Hope Is Alive”. Vashti Media has pulled together this fascinating collection of responses from people with a connection to New York. This is not a scientific survey but conveys some of the excitement but also a little caution and even criticism.
We all know that the work is just starting and it is great that the millions (from billionaires) allocated to oppose him, the despicable Islamophobic rhetoric and the predictable allegations about his antizionism, including shamefully from 1000 US rabbis across the USA, did not prevent his win. However, such attacks will not stop because he has won and won convincingly. The attacks, combined with the necessary compromises that he will make and the likely cuts from central government as well as the likely presence of the National Guard at some point, are just some of the ways in which the campaigning as well as the work of delivery are just beginning.
We also note the hypocrisy of Labour politicians welcoming and Wes Streeting even saying that they can learn from this victory; we know that had Mamdani been a Labour Party member, even if he had avoided expulsion he most certainly would not have been allowed to stand for any public role, let alone one as high profile as this.
Of course there are lessons to learn and many are outlined in many of the responses below: address the real needs of ordinary people, recognise the workers who make everything run, including those who work through the night; be principled about opposing genocide and offer real changes that will make a positive difference and demand that the wealthiest people pay for it – which will, of course, also mean that they have a city/society that works.
Now if Labour learned those lessons we could be facing a very different future.
LL
This article was originally published by Vashti Media on Fri 7 Nov 2025. Read the original here.
Power in hands that rarely hold it
Everyday New Yorkers react to Mamdani’s win.
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As has been said, had Zohran Mamdani been a member of our Labour Party, as it has disgustingly become, he would have been prevented from standing and would have been expelled for no sound reason.
Zohran Mamdani won in NY despite the usual establishment whoppers.
What Mamdani and Corbyn’s “wins” show is that “non-voting” voters aren’t apathetic about politics – their problem is they haven’t been offered policies, a political party or a leader worth voting FOR.
In both the US and UK, national politics has been run for far too long by an elite of insiders largely for the career benefit of insiders, with very little interest in or insight into the lives and needs of the electorate,
I’ve just stumbled across this fantastic Jewish run website and firstly wish to say a huge thankyou to the decent, intelligent and compassionate Jewish people that have been brave and motivated enough to set this up and defend the so cruelly wronged and voiceless Palestinian’s. Thank you for speaking up against Zionism and for reminding us that we all have a moral duty to protect each other as fellow human beings…regardless of which ‘club’ you belong to or were born into. Right is right and wrong will always be WRONG. Regardless.
And yes, we mustn’t forget that we the people actually hold the power. Especially when we are brave, united and speak out as one against all the wrong in this world.
Let us no longer allow the ignorant, self-serving, brutal and callous playground bullies of this world to continue their hate fuelled crusade, unchecked. Enough is enough.
Like I said, time to reclaim our collective power and redirect that energy for our shared greater good 😉 x