The Mayor has demanded the UK rejoin the EU.
Khan: rejoining the EU is ‘inevitable’ (Image: Getty)
Sir Sadiq Khan has demanded Labour pledge to take Britain back into the European Union in a staggering Brexit betrayal. The Remain-backing Mayor of London said Sir Keir Starmer should go into the next election with reversing the democratic decision to leave the bloc on the ballot paper.
He also called for Sir Keir to drag the country back into the customs union and the single market before 2029, telling Italian newspaper La Repubblica that bowing to Brussels again was “inevitable”. Mr Khan said he felt cost-of-living pressures meant that “at some stage we are going to rejoin the European Union“.
The Mayor said he saw “on a daily basis the damage Brexit has done to not just London, but Londoners, the damage economically, socially and culturally”. He blamed US tariffs and the escalating conflict with Iran as factors driving up costs for British families.
In a stunning rebuke of his own party’s leadership, Mr Khan also fumed at recently announced immigration reforms, saying he hoped people would listen to “myself, Angela Rayner, Andy Burnham and many others who have expressed concerns”. The intervention came after Sir Keir was left battling with his own backbenchers following Ms Rayner, his former deputy, blasting the Government’s immigration reforms as “un-British”.
Mr Khan said: “We want people, if they come here, to properly contribute, to integrate and get involved.” The Mayor of London has considerable form for speaking about Brexit, and often does so when talking about cost-of-living concerns and other pressures on the city.
His comments mark the latest sign of Labour splits over the Government’s direction, with senior figures openly challenging Sir Keir’s policies on immigration, the economy and Britain’s relationship with Europe.
Khan called for Britain to rejoin the single market (Image: Getty)
The Mayor’s call for a return to the customs union and single market would effectively reverse the core economic parts of Brexit, restoring free movement and handing regulatory control back to Brussels. Critics rounded on the Mayor’s push to betray the 17.3million Britons who voted to leave, with a Conservative Party spokesman saying Mr Khan’s intervention was proof “Keir Starmer is in office but not in power”.
They added: “Ed Miliband is deciding foreign policy, Angela Rayner is deciding immigration policy, and now Sadiq Khan is deciding EU policy. Only Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives are serious about cutting welfare, cutting taxes and getting Britain working again.”
Reform UK also took aim at the Mayor, saying: “After the next election, Reform will reverse any attempt to drag us back into the single market and customs union.”