Hard Brexit to Be Bad for London, Europe - London Mayor

London Mayor Sadiq Khan stated that hard Brexit would be bad for London and for Europe too due to economic conditions.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Hard Brexit will be bad for both the UK capital and the European Union, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Thursday.

"I accept the case that the British public have voted to leave the European Union… What the British people haven't done is to vote to make us poorer…. One of the things I am doing is not just lobbying the British government but lobbying businesses to press upon their governments the fact that a hard Brexit would be bad for London and for Europe too," Khan told CNBC broadcaster in an interview on the sidelines of the Davos economic forum.

On Wednesday, Khan said that hard Brexit could unite the Conservative Party but tear apart the United Kingdom itself.

On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that the United Kingdom would not remain a member of the EU single market following Brexit, but instead would pursue bilateral free trade agreements with the bloc’s members.

The United Kingdom held a referendum on June 23, 2016, deciding to leave the European Union. May said the country would trigger the Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty by the end of March, which will mark the beginning of the withdrawal negotiations, as well as negotiations on free trade with London's international partners.