Sir Sadiq Khan has sparked a backlash from Brexiteers after demanding that Andy Burnham starts preparing immediately for Britain to rejoin the EU. The Labour Mayor of London called on the Prime Minister to make a manifesto commitment at the next election to drag the UK back to Brussels.
Khan's call to start work now
Sir Sadiq, who campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum, told The i Paper: “We’ve got to start the work now. You can’t, a week before a general election, pull out of a hat this rabbit of a manifesto and say we’re going to rejoin in six weeks’ time.
“The heavy lifting, the pitch rolling must be done now, explaining to the country the disadvantages of being outside the European Union and the benefits of being part of this family.”
Rosindell hits back
But Reform UK MP Andrew Rosindell hit back at Sir Sadiq for "trying to overturn the biggest democratic vote in a generation."
He said: "The British people voted to leave the EU a decade ago, and Labour still refuses to accept that result.
“Sadiq Khan should stick to fixing London’s soaring crime rates and failing public services instead of trying to overturn the biggest democratic vote in a generation.
“Only Reform UK will deliver the Brexit people voted for and stop the political establishment from dragging Britain back into a political union which the British people voted to leave.”
Comparisons with Blair and Branson
Sir Sadiq's comments go further than Sir Tony Blair, who last week called for the UK to rejoin the club in the next decade. The former Labour prime minister said: “There is no point in inching towards Europe as we feel what British public opinion might accommodate.
"We should be clear that we want back into a formal relationship with the EU. But it must be a Europe on a credible path to reform, a Europe of nation states, a Europe capable of being a genuine global power."
Billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson also weighed in, branding Brexit as an “unprecedented act of economic and political self-harm”. He insisted the British people should be given a “second chance” to decide whether to be in the EU.
Mr Burnham has committed to Labour's red lines on Brexit in its 2024 manifesto, including not returning to the single market, customs union or freedom of movement. But earlier last week, the PM left the door open to including a pledge to rejoin the EU in Labour's next election manifesto.
