19th Mar 2026 15:39
(Alliance News) - Keir Starmer is sticking to his "red lines" on links with the EU, Downing Street said after the mayor of London called for Labour to pledge to rejoin the bloc at the next election.
The UK prime minister has sought to "reset" relations with Brussels in an effort to improve trade ties since his election in 2024.
But he has ruled out rejoining the customs union, the single market or returning to freedom of movement.
The prime minister's official spokesman reiterated those red lines after Sadiq Khan argued in favour of making it a manifesto commitment to rejoin the EU.
The spokesman said: "We have said previously, improving our relationship with the EU is in no way rowing back on Brexit.
"This is about taking sovereign decisions in the national interest while sticking to our red lines."
He added: "I think the chancellor and the prime minister have been very clear, and the chancellor has been extremely clear this week that the government's red lines as set out in the manifesto stand."
The manifesto is for the duration of this parliament, he noted.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves earlier this week set out plans to follow more of the EU's rules, saying closer alignment would help bring down prices and inflation.
She warned the UK risked being "stranded" between rival trading blocs unless it forged closer ties with Brussels and said the UK's fate as a country was "inescapably bound with that of Europe".
Khan said that as London's mayor he sees the "daily damage" Brexit has done, in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
"I'm quite clear in terms of what needs to happen, which is, we should join the EU."
Khan pointed to the election of US President Donald Trump, growing global instability and the passage of time as reasons to revisit the issue, arguing that "the facts have changed" and "the evidence has changed".
"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 EU. I think it's inevitable," he said.
The UK and EU want to finalise agreements on a youth mobility scheme and establishing a common sanitary & phytosanitary area – which would apply to the movement of plants and food – by the time of their next joint summit later this year.
By Helen Corbett, Press Association Political Correspondent
Press Association: News
source: PA
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