Ahead of Parliament reconvening tomorrow for just one week, the Mayor has called on all 73 London MPs to put the needs of the capital and the country first and immediately consider all options to avoid the potentially devastating consequences of a no-deal Brexit.
The Mayor is concerned that with Parliament being suspended next week, a no-deal Brexit is the Government’s preferred scenario, despite its own assessments warning that it could lead to consumer panic, rising crime, food shortages and economic chaos.
Expert independent economic analysis, published by the Mayor last year, showed no-deal hard Brexit could lead to a lost decade – or even longer – of significantly lower growth, with the country potentially having 500,000 fewer jobs in the worst-case scenario, and nearly £50bn less investment by 2030, than would otherwise have been the case. This would include 119,000 fewer jobs in the financial and professional services, 92,000 fewer jobs in science and technology, 43,000 fewer jobs in construction and 27,000 fewer jobs across the UK’s creative sectors.
In London, there could be as many as 87,000 fewer jobs and the capital’s economic output could be two per cent lower by 2030 than predicted under the status quo. London’s professional and financial services would be the worst hit by a no-deal hard Brexit, with 29,000 fewer jobs by 2030 than if we remained in the Single Market and Customs Union. There would be 11,000 fewer jobs in science and technology, 5,000 fewer jobs in construction and 6,000 fewer jobs across London’s creative sector.
The Mayor, who is currently on the second day of visit to Poland to strengthen ties with city mayors of one of the EU’s fastest growing economies, is calling on London MPs to properly reflect on the potentially devastating consequences of no deal on jobs, growth, public safety, food supply and living standards in London and across the UK, and to do whatever it takes before it is too late to stop a no-deal Brexit.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m urging every London MP to do what’s right for our city and our country by doing whatever it takes to stop a no-deal Brexit.
“A no-deal Brexit would cause huge disruption, make us poorer, less safe and diminish our global standing. It would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, tens of billions of pounds in investment and put the rights and freedoms of EU citizens at risk.
“That’s why I’m calling on all London MPs – from all political parties – to immediately put aside their differences to prevent a no-deal Brexit for the good of their constituents, our capital and our country.
“History will judge our Parliamentarians on this issue like few before. So MPs must think carefully about how they will be remembered if they fail to use their position at this pivotal moment to help stop a damaging no-deal Brexit.”
Notes to editors
Last year the Mayor published expert independent economic analysis by Cambridge Econometrics. The findings were an analysis of the potential impact of five different Brexit scenarios on London and the whole of the UK – including a hard Brexit scenario without a two-year transition period
If the UK leaves the European Union in March 2019 with no deal on the single market, customs union or transition – there could be 482,000 fewer jobs across the entire UK, together with 15 per cent – or £46.8bn - less investment than with a continuation of the status quo. The UK’s economic output (measured by Gross Value Added) could fall by 3 per cent by 2030 – the equivalent of £54.5bn