On Thursday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged for stronger relations with Europe and improved immigration policies. Khan is from the opposition Labour Party and will seek his third term in May.
He referred to Brexit as a “key contributor” to the country’s cost-of-living crisis and said that Britain’s 2020 departure from the bloc isn’t working. According to him, Brexit is not a peripheral concern of the past, and its exit is resulting in lost opportunities, business, and income. He argued for a new settlement to bolster the UK’s economy and improve living standards. In addition, he emphasised the importance of a lenient immigration policy and said that social and cultural exchanges are beneficial for the economy.
His office’s statement concluded by stating that City Hall estimates Brexit has cost the British economy £140 billion ($178 billion) and London’s economy has dropped by £30 billion (7.5%).
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for PM Sunak said the nation’s economy has grown much faster than Italy’s and Germany’s since 2016 and promised to reduce regular immigration to historic lows and to halt asylum seekers from France from attempting to cross the channel in small boats.
