My father, with whom I had a complex relationship: often, when I was young, his desire to protect me clashed with the stubbornness of my choices.
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 September 2016 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 209 →Helen Edmundson, because I wasn’t able to be a better friend at school.
To my mum; I wish I’d known her better before she passed in 2016.
Most of the people I dated between 23 and 33. It feels crazy to me that I ever thought that I could be anyone’s girlfriend before I figured out the things I’ve now figured out.
More from Sadiq Khan
View profile →As a mayor who made London better for all Londoners, and as a good husband and dad.
When I was a kid in Tooting, our house caught fire. We didn’t realise until the fire brigade turned up.
Labour losing the 2015 election: we weren’t able to help the people who needed us most.
Mo Farah represents everything that’s great about our country.
I would have had more time with my dad before he passed away.
More on failure & regret
- What has been your biggest disappointment? 369 answers
- If you could edit your past, what would you change? 205 answers
- What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? 124 answers
- Which moment embarrassed you most? 124 answers
- How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure? 77 answers
- What is the hardest thing that has happened to you, and what did you carry out of it? 39 answers
Also answered this
Kellie Maloney, John Prescott, Chris Bryant, Louis Theroux, Anita Rani, Caroline Lucas
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All failure & regret questions
- The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject