{"id":169878,"date":"2023-01-20T11:49:20","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T11:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=169878"},"modified":"2023-01-20T11:49:20","modified_gmt":"2023-01-20T11:49:20","slug":"keir-starmer-slaps-down-sadiq-khan-over-rejoining-eu-single-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/politics\/keir-starmer-slaps-down-sadiq-khan-over-rejoining-eu-single-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Keir Starmer slaps down Sadiq Khan over rejoining EU single market"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sir Keir Starmer has insisted there is “no case” for rejoining the EU’s single market in a rebuke to Sadiq Khan. The Labour leader’s comments come after the London Mayor claimed Brexit is doing “immense damage” to the UK and demanded “greater alignment” with Brussels.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the BBC’s Newsnight at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sir Keir said he wants a “closer relationship” with the EU.<\/p>\n
But the Labour leader ruled out rejoining the bloc or the single market.<\/p>\n
He said: “We would accept that the deal that Johnson got is not a good deal and you can see the impact it is having on our economy.<\/p>\n
“And that is why we have been clear we want a closer relationship with the EU.<\/p>\n
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“That starts with the protocol in Northern Ireland, it then goes into a discussion about how close we can be.<\/p>\n
“We can\u2019t go back into the EU, there isn\u2019t a political case for going back into the EU or the single market.<\/p>\n
“But I am having discussions about what a closer trading relationship might look like.”<\/p>\n
Sir Keir’s comments will be seen as a slap down to Mr Khan for trying to drag the UK back into the EU’s single market.<\/p>\n
In a speech at Mansion House earlier this month, the London Mayor blasted the Government’s “denial and avoidance”.<\/p>\n
He said: “I simply can’t keep quiet about the immense damage Brexit is doing.<\/p>\n
“Ministers seem to have developed selective amnesia when it comes to one of the root causes of our problems.<\/p>\n
“Brexit can’t be airbrushed out of history or the consequences wished away.”<\/p>\n
Mr Khan also called for a “pragmatic debate about the benefits of being a part of the customs union and the single market”.<\/p>\n
He said: “After two years of denial and avoidance, we must now confront the hard truth: Brexit isn’t working.<\/p>\n
“It’s weakened our economy, fractured our union and diminished our reputation. But, crucially, not beyond repair.<\/p>\n
“We need greater alignment with our European neighbours – a shift from this extreme, hard Brexit we have now to a workable version that serves our economy and people.<\/p>\n
“That includes having a pragmatic debate about the benefits of being a part of the customs union and the single market.”<\/p>\n
Although Mr Khan’s criticism was aimed at the Tories, it was also seen as a swipe at Sir Keir.<\/p>\n
The Labour leader, who campaigned for Remain in 2016 before pushing for a second referendum, has recently taken a hardline stance on Brexit.<\/p>\n