Sadiq Khan has pledged to work his "socks off" to become London's first Labour Mayor since 2008 - naming affordable housing, air quality and better transport as some of his priorities if elected.

The Tooting MP told this website he was "overwhelmed" by support from the community for "the local boy done good" after winning the Labour mayoral candidate election on Friday.

"Everyone's just overjoyed for our community because I think one of the reasons why I was nominated to run for the job was because I'm not sure how much you can do to reduce the housing crisis, reduce inequality and improve public transport being in opposition in a Conservative government and with a Conservative mayor", he said.

If there is any bad feeling towards the Tooting MP for not revealing he was going to stand for Mayor of London when people nominated him as their MP in May, he said it was a decision only taken after the unexpected Labour defeat, which left him out of the cabinet.

He has previously said in 2013: "If the ball came loose at the edge of the box and I thought I had the best chance of scoring a goal I'd probably shoot."

He said today of the trigger for his run: "I had no idea that we were going to lose the election".

The 44-year-old former lawyer also pointed out that he has had several ministerial roles throughout his 10-year career as an MP which has never made him neglect his constituents.

On Sunday he was meeting shopkeepers to talk about their concerns, and he said he will continue to meet with St George's Hospital and police to serve the community where he was born, raised and continues to live up until the mayoral election.

But he confirmed that he will stand down as MP if elected on May 5.

The Conservative candidate for Mayor of London has yet to be announced, but Mr Khan is already being pitched against Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, who represents Richmond Park and north Kingston.

Will the bus driver's son from Tooting be able to resonate more with Londoners than the son of a billionaire of aristocratic descent?

"I don't think that the fact that Zac is a billionaire means he can't have empathy so I don't hold that against him so it's a bit unfair to say that he can't have empathy."

But he said he would be able to draw on his own experiences of being raised on a council state, going to a state school and starting his own business to work towards improving affordable housing, education and supporting businesses.

Mr Khan beat Dame Tessa Jowell by 58.9 to 41.1 per cent of the vote in what was widely described as a "surprise" result.

But he said he was "quietly confident" because he had got support from bus drivers, dinner ladies, entrepreneurs and business people during his campaign, which saw him visit 200 areas of the capital.

The MP thanked his wife and two daughters, aged 15 and 14 (but “going on 34 and 35”) and Tooting residents for their support.

"They are really proud a local boy has done good”, he said.