London Mayor says EU exit no big deal

London Mayor Boris Johnson says Britain’s exit from the European Union would not be as “cataclysmic” for British jobs as opponents of the move say.

Johnson said he is not in favor of withdrawal from the 27-nation bloc, but warned that London should be ready to leave if British Prime Minister David Cameron does not succeed in repatriating certain powers from Brussels in negotiations with the union.

“What we need to do is to say to our friends and partners, ‘Listen, chums, this thing isn’t working for either of us …We need a look at the way the thing is managed’,” Johnson said.

“We should be prepared to pull out. That goes without saying. You can’t go into a negotiation like that without being willing to walk away,” he added.

Johnson also claimed that a withdrawal will not be as damaging as it is pretended to be to the British economy, when considering the benefits of such a move.

Cameron has pledged to hold an EU referendum in 2017 if his Conservative party wins the 2015 election.

An EU exit is opposed by a majority of Conservatives’ coalition partners Liberal Democrats and the opposition Labour.

Economy is one of the key concerns of the opponents of withdrawal as the EU is Britain’s biggest trade partner.