Downing Street dismisses Sadiq Khan’s call to reverse Brexit

LONDON — Downing Street on Thursday brushed off London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s call for Labour to take Britain back into the European Union.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson told reporters that the government’s manifesto promises not to unpick Brexit “still stand.”

The Labour mayor of London had told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that the U.K. should seek to get back into the EU’s customs union and single market “during this parliament” — and then push to rejoin the bloc wholesale.

“We should rejoin the customs union this parliament … we should rejoin the single market. We should try and do this during this parliament,” he told the newspaper.

“And then we should, as a Labour Party, fight the next general election with a clear manifesto commitment, a vote for Labour means we would rejoin the European Union.”

Khan, whose city London voted strongly to remain in the EU in 2016, said the damage Brexit had done had made the U.K. rejoining the bloc “inevitable.”

But asked about the mayor’s comments Thursday, the prime minister’s spokesperson told a regular briefing of journalists in Westminster: “The government’s red lines that are set out in the manifesto stand.”

The spokesperson added that the manifesto was valid for “the duration of the parliament” and when pushed on future plans said: “We’re not going to write the manifesto for the next election here.”

Khan is the most senior Labour figure thus far to broach the topic of the U.K. rejoining the bloc — with the issue still considered a political hot potato in Westminster.

It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves Tuesday said the U.K. should align with EU rules in areas where it is in its economic interest to do so.

Starmer’s government is already negotiating an agrifood deal, an electricity trading deal, and a youth mobility agreement with the bloc — as well as beefing up cooperation on security and climate action.

But Starmer has ruled out rejoining the EU customs union, single market, or reintroducing free movement of people with the bloc.

U.K. public opinion has tuned sharply against Brexit in the near decade since the 2016 vote, with the latest survey from YouGov this week showing 54 percent of Brits support rejoining the bloc versus 34 percent who oppose doing so, with 12 percent undecided.