Sadiq Khan has ventured to Brussels today to meet with European Union negotiators. London’s mayor has a plan to convince EU officials to offer Brits ‘associate citizenship’ after the Brexit implementation period ends this year. The citizenship would grant Brits continued access to freedom of movement and residency within the EU, along with a possible host of other rights linked to healthcare, welfare and voting in European Parliamentary elections. The bid, Khan says, is for ‘heartbroken’ Londoners and others.
Of course, Khan is extremely unlikely to be successful. Although London’s mayor wants associate citizenship to be high up on the negotiating agenda when it comes the ‘future relationship’, it’s probably a non-starter for the Government. If the EU expected any aspects of the citizenship to be reciprocated, this would essentially amount to a soft-Brexit, which has very firmly been ruled out by the UK and by the Political Declaration agreed to by both the UK and EU.
If the benefits of the EU were offered up on a silver platter to British nationals, why would even the most committed Brexiteer resist?
The Guardian also highlights that what Khan proposes is currently
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