Labour mayor ‘ lets cat out of bag’ on Brexit

SADIQ Khan was yesterday accused of ‘letting the cat out of the bag’ about Labour’s Brexit plans, after he called for a ‘pragmatic debate’ on rejoining the EU’s single market.

London’s Labour mayor said Brexit ‘isn’t working’ and called for ‘greater alignment with our European neighbours’.

‘We have to have a workable version that serves our economy and people,’ he said. ‘That includes having a pragmatic debate about the benefits of being a part of the customs union and the single market.’

Labour declined to endorse Mr Khan’s call, saying Sir Keir Starmer had already been ‘clear’ that he would not seek to rejoin the single market if he wins the next election. Senior Shadow Cabinet figures, including David Lammy, Rachel Reeves and deputy leader Angela Rayner, declined to comment.

But Tory MPs said Mr Khan had unwittingly revealed Labour’s true intention to reverse Brexit.

Former minister Sir John Hayes said: ‘Sadiq Khan is letting the cat out of the bag.

Keir Starmer does not want to talk about this, but it is quite clear where the Labour Party’s instincts are.

‘We should not be complacent and assume that our sovereign future is safe under Labour – the only way of securing Brexit is to have a Conservative prime minister.

‘Otherwise we could very well end up with the worst possible option under Labour, where we are in the EU in all but name – signed up to the laws of a foreign potentate, but with no say over those laws. We would have all the worst effects of the EU but no chance to alter it.’

Labour MP Stella Creasy, chairman of the Labour Movement for Europe, said support for a closer relationship with the EU was growing within the party. She said membership of the group had surged by 50 per cent in the past year.

Miss Creasy told the Daily Mail it was time to ‘rebuild our relationship’ with the EU, adding: ‘I have got businesses in my constituency going bust because of Brexit.

‘How long are they expected to wait for the so-called benefits of Brexit before we accept it isn’t working?’

In a speech last year, Sir Keir said there was ‘no case’ for rejoining the single market.

Sir Keir will today urge ministers to compromise with the EU over Northern Ireland – and said Labour would help push through a soft Brexit deal.

The Labour leader, who is visiting Northern Ireland for talks with local leaders, will call on Rishi Sunak to stand up to the ‘Brexit purity cult’ in his own party and accept a compromise with Brussels.