Sadiq Khan urges Labour to campaign on rejoining EU at next election | Sadiq Khan
Labor should go into the next general election promising to rejoin the EU, Sadiq Khan has said.
London’s mayor has repeatedly floated the idea of joining the customs union and single market, but on Wednesday night he went further by suggesting the party should pledge full membership at the next election.
He told Italian newspaper La Repubblica: “As a Labor Party we must fight the next general election with a clear manifesto commitment; voting Labor means rejoining the European Union. I think this is inevitable.”
Khan cited the time since the referendum and the economic instability caused by Donald Trump since Labor was elected in July 2024 as reasons why this was desirable.
“President Trump is imposing tariffs on friend and foe and creating great economic uncertainty that was unforeseen in the last general election,” he said.
“[And] America is engaged in a war in Iran with Israel, which causes great economic uncertainty, affects oil prices, affects the cost of living. God knows what President Trump’s exit strategy is, what his endgame is.
“So the facts have changed. The evidence has changed. That’s why this parliament needs to rejoin the customs union and the single market. I’m quite clear.”
“There is a vote for Labor on the ballot paper for the next general election, a vote to rejoin the European Union, and we must be clear about the benefits of Europe. [Union] because now we have seen the alternative.”
The UK voted to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum when David Cameron was prime minister, and the UK completed its official departure from the bloc in 2021.
Khan said he sees “on a daily basis the damage that Brexit is doing, not just to London but to Londoners, economically, socially and culturally.”
He cited new research conducted by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research and Goldman Sachs, which suggests the UK economy could have grown by another 10 per cent if Brexit had not occurred.
Khan’s demand goes far beyond the government’s policy position of “resetting” relations with the EU. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in a speech earlier this week that Britain needed to comply more with EU rules to boost trade and lower prices.
Reeves said Brexit impacted gross domestic product (GDP) by up to 8% and contributed to higher prices for businesses and consumers.
He emphasized that he was not trying to “turn back the clock” on Brexit, but was trying to establish a “new and stable relationship in the future” with Brussels.
