Labour should pledge to rejoin the EU at next election

London Mayor Sadiq Khan told CNBC that the ruling Labor Party in England should commit to rejoining the EU in the next general election.

In an interview on Monday, Khan acknowledged his party’s disastrous performance in last week’s local elections. As party MPs openly discuss replacing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he has called on the government to be “bolder” and deliver on its promises.

“People are frustrated with the lack of delivery speed,” Khan told CNBC’s Ritika Gupta.

“We haven’t been brave enough, we haven’t been brave enough. We are in danger of losing the next general election quite badly.”

Khan welcomed Starmer’s speech after the election results; In that speech, the prime minister stated that the British government would rebuild its ties with the European Union, including strengthening its alignment with the bloc’s single market and customs union.

“Go into the next general election with a manifesto that contains a clear promise: if Labor wins the next general election, we will rejoin the European Union,” Khan said. General elections must be held in August 2029 at the latest.

The country left the bloc in 2020 after the 2016 referendum resulted in a 52 percent victory for the “Leave” campaign.

Khan, who is mayor of Europe’s largest financial centre, described Brexit as “the greatest act of economic self-harm ever committed by any country”.

Khan said Britain could tackle the cost of living crisis by creating more wealth and prosperity, adding: “The best way to do this is to rejoin the largest trading bloc on our doorstep.”

Khan highlighted “major changes” since Labor won the 2024 general election, including US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which he said were damaging global trade.

This and the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine have increased the cost of living and energy prices, Khan said, adding that people should “accept and recognize the winds coming from overseas”.

On relations with the United States, Khan said people should remember “how unpredictable the current president is.”

He added: “It’s very difficult to have a relationship with a person like that, someone who, you know, is rambunctious or disruptive but obviously behaves in a way that’s hard to predict.”

Khan added that it was unprecedented for a U.S. president to “have tariffs, be protectionist, be unilateral, withdraw from climate change agreements, talk about withdrawing from NATO, withdraw from agreements made literally within days and weeks on a mood basis.”

But he said the countries’ relations were about “more than personalities” and said Starmer “did a great job explaining that you can be friends with the United States and be close to the European Union.”

Admitting that Labour’s policy achievements had been marred by “fundamental mistakes and setbacks”, he said last week’s election result was “more than a spoiler” for the party.

But Khan insisted caution should be exercised in replacing Starmer.

“When I talk to people around the world, whether they are investors, senior managers, venture capitalists, they see the UK as a place that provides calm, stability and certainty,” he said.