London Mayor Sadiq Khan has urged the UK to strengthen its ties with the European Union blaming Brexit for costing the British economy tens of billions of pounds.
In a speech that the Labour mayor will deliver on Thursday evening, Kahn highlighted the need for a "closer relationship with the EU". He believes a new agreement would energise London's economy and improve UK living standards in general. He expressed his concern that the impact of leaving the Union will affect other areas of the UK more strongly, with the result that the productivity gap will widen between the capital and other UK regions.
His position stands out from the stance of the Conservative and Labour parties, which are both reluctant to address the economic damage caused by Brexit. Khan cited a study commissioned by the London Mayor’s office from Cambridge Econometrics; this calculates a cost of £140bn (€162.58 bn) to the UK economy as a result of Brexit, with the cost to London an estimated £30bn (€34.84 bn).
"We must be honest, Brexit is not a peripheral concern we can consign to history. It’s a key aspect of the cost-of-living crisis" triggered by inflation, insists Khan, as he seeks a third term in the mayoral elections in May.
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The same study forecasts that, if unaddressed, the economic losses for the UK will reach £300bn by 2035, with £60bn of that in London. In terms of jobs, Cambridge Econometrics estimates that two million jobs nationwide have been lost, of which 300,000 were in the capital.
However, a spokesperson for Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak countered that UK economic activity has witnessed "faster growth" than Italy and Germany since 2016.
The government also claimed that leaving the European Union has in fact provided new opportunities, pointing to free trade agreements signed with countries such as Australia and the UK’s membership in the Trans-Pacific trade partnership. Yet these agreements have so far failed to offset the losses incurred by Brexit.
