Sadiq Khan has called for an immediate campaign to persuade voters of the benefits of rejoining the European Union, warning that it would not be enough for Andy Burnham to promise closer ties with Brussels in Labour’s next election manifesto.
The London Mayor urged the Prime Minister to begin the process now, arguing that the UK should first return to the EU customs union, seek associate membership and ultimately propose full re-entry without waiting for a second referendum.
“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,” Lord Khan told the i paper during the Labour conference.
“The heavy lifting, the pitch rolling must be done now, explaining to the country the disbenefits of being outside the European Union and the benefits of being part of this family.”
His intervention risks reopening divisions within Labour over Brexit, after Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds warned against allowing the issue to dominate British politics again.
Mr Reynolds said the UK should continue improving its relationship with the EU within existing red lines, including not rejoining the single market or customs union. He said returning to the debate would bring a cost through renewed political uncertainty and paralysis.
“This approach of genuinely improving things across the board and not returning to political uncertainty, I think, is absolutely the right one,” he said.
Mr Reynolds added that he did not support returning to the EU customs union, arguing that the practical benefits of the current UK-EU reset should remain the focus.
“You’re not going to get much more benefit than what we’re already going to get from the agreement that we have struck and are negotiating the details of,” he said, while pointing to opportunities outside Europe that Britain could pursue.
Europe has risen up Labour’s agenda, with Tony Blair suggesting last week that the UK should consider rejoining a “significantly reformed” EU over the next decade.
Mr Burnham has previously backed returning to the EU, although he has become more cautious since becoming Prime Minister. Lord Khan said that simply floating the idea for a future manifesto would not go far enough.
