Labor Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will call on Downing Street on Thursday to admit the “tremendous damage” caused by Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) and to acknowledge that “Brexit doesn’t work”.
“After two years of denial and avoidance, we now have to face the hard truth: Brexit is not working,” said the long-time opponent of leaving the EU in a speech that AFP obtained. extracts.
Brexit “has weakened our economy, fractured our union and tarnished our reputation”, he must argue during a speech scheduled at Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City of London, financial heart of the capital and from the country.
“I simply cannot remain silent on the immense damage caused by Brexit,” denounces Mr. Khan, according to extracts from his speech sent to AFP.
But “it is not irreparable”, he judges. “We need greater alignment with our European neighbors — a change from this extreme, hard Brexit,” which means, among other things, “a pragmatic discussion about the benefits of being part of the customs union and the single market “, he explains.
This criticism, which targets the government, also contrasts with the official position of the Labor opposition whose leader, Keir Starmer, also an opponent of Brexit, has promised that he will embrace the will expressed by voters to “regain control”. .
Mr Starmer claims Labor can fix the problems with the EU exit deal and ‘make Brexit work’.
According to the Mayor of London, “no one wants to see a return to the division and stalemate which has dominated our body politic for five long years”.
But “the reality is that the City”, the powerful financial center of London, “is hard hit by the loss of contracts and talent”, in favor of other European places such as Paris or Amsterdam, he underlines.
Support for Brexit has never been so low across the Channel: less than a third of Britons believe it was the right decision, according to a November poll by the YouGov institute.