Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party candidate for this year's London Mayoral election, has described the social action of the Church as what "London needs in 2016".
He has been speaking exclusively to Premier as he bids to win back City Hall for his party after eight years with Boris Johnson as Mayor.
Sadiq Khan
Age 45
MP for Tooting since 2005
Served in Gordon Brown's government
Practised law before move to politics
The son of a London bus driver is looking to make the move after 11 years as an MP in Tooting, in south London.
His time in Westminster has seen him serve as a Minister in the Department for Transport and Department for Communities.
He has come up with ten priorities for London, which include:
- Tackle the housing crisis, building thousands more homes for Londoners each year.
- Freeze London transport fares for four years and introduce a one-hour bus 'Hopper' ticket
- Make London safer, with action to restore neighbourhood policing, tackle gangs and knife crime
- Be the most pro-business Mayor yet, working in partnership with industry to deliver on skills, infrastructure, and growth
- Restore London's air quality to legal and safe levels, with action to make travel greener and pedestrianise Oxford Street, while protecting the green belt
Mr Khan has committed to working with the church community if he becomes Mayor next week.
He told Premier his experiences of social action from churches in his constituency drives him to look to work with faith groups in the future.
"When I think about my own community in Tooting I see the huge contribution made by the churches locally.
"The work they do isn't limited to the Church, it's pastoral work, foodbanks, youth facilities, keeping an eye on older people or thinking about those who are homeless.
"That is something London needs in 2016 as much as in previous years."
Khan, a practising Muslim, also explained how important religion is to him.
"It partly defines who I am," he said. "My values come from what my parents taught me.
"The version of Islam I practice is one where you treat your neighbours with kindness, you treat others how you like to be treated, you don't walk on the other side of the road if someone's in trouble.
"I pray, I fast, I give money to charity, I've performed the pilgrimage.
"Religion sometimes gets a bad press...but there are so many good things that happen because of faith and religion."
Watch Sadiq Khan speaking to Premier's Marcus Jones.