Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, believes that “Brexit is a key factor in the purchasing power crisis”. In the middle of the electoral period, the Labor elected official is convinced that the time has now come for “Bregret”: a contraction of “Brexit” and “regret”.
Published
Reading time: 2 min
:quality(50)/2024/01/12/kahn-65a122b4ef693908905578.jpg)
London Mayor denounces cost of Brexit and calls on UK to “tighten” its links with the European Union. In the middle of an election year, the Labor elected official is putting his feet in the water. Until now no politician, including in his own camp, had dared to broach the subject. Sadiq Khan is responsible for dotting the i’s. “Brexit, he said, is not a peripheral concern that belongs to the past. It is a key factor in inflation and the purchasing power crisis. If we want to raise the standard of living of the British, it is time to find a new agreement with the European Union.”
The Mayor of London highlights a study commissioned by his offices. According to Cambridge Econometrics, Brexit cost the British economy 162 billion euros and led to the loss of two million jobs, including 300,000 in the capital. And if we don’t do anything, the meters will continue to panic.
Why is he bringing the subject up? Out of conviction because he has always been against Brexit, for his country as well as for his city, but also out of interest. The municipal elections are held in May, he is a candidate for a third term. Sadiq Khan sees that society is changing. After Brexit, the time has now come for Bregret, a contraction of “Brexit” and “regret”, the English are very good at neologisms! Health, immigration, higher education, economy, no one sees the added value.
Between 55 and 60% of Britons regret leaving Europe, the figure climbs even higher among young people. Sadiq Khan knows that in view of the legislative elections which will take place in the autumn or at the end of the year, his party, Labor, is well ahead of the race… with an average of 18 points ahead of the Conservatives, who have occupied Downing Street for 14 years.
No short-term referendum on returning to the EU
However, even if Labor wins these legislative elections, we cannot imagine in the short term that the United Kingdom will return to the EU. There will be no referendum on reintegration into the union, the memory of the 2016 vote which deeply divided society is far too painful. It’s no longer on the program. On the other hand, what is possible and what the current government is doing on the sly is to negotiate with Brussels point by point. The Labor leader, Keir Starmer, potential future Prime Minister, has already announced that if he wins the elections, he will renegotiate the agreement to leave the Union to establish better relations with Europe in terms of security, commerce or research. The 27 are just waiting for that.