(Bloomberg) -- Britain’s main opposition leader Keir Starmer said he’s concerned with results of recent elections in the European Parliament, which prompted France’s decision to call a snap election that risks building support for the far right.

Starmer, whose left-wing Labour Party is leading the Conservatives in polls less than three weeks before the UK election, said, “I want to see progressive parties succeed in Europe and I’m concerned where I see right or very right wing politics taking hold.” 

The remarks underscore the potential for a sharp political rift in Europe, with the EU drifting to the right just as the UK is poised to have a left-wing government in office for the first time in 14 years.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s response to the advance of right-wing parties in the EU parliament election was to call a vote for the legislature in his own country. That’s opened the risk that Marine Le Pen’s far-right party gets into office, something the finance minister Bruno Le Maire hass warned could trigger a financial crisis. 

Asked if he’s concerned about Macron’s gamble and the risk to markets from the political makeup of Europe after the recent elections, Starmer replied, “We’re a progressive party.”

“I am very concerned about economic stability,” he said. “Because I think that if there’s one hallmark economically over the last 14 years, it’s chaos and instability that’s had a massive impact on investment. So the massive impact on individuals who take an example is still paying hundreds of pounds more a month on their mortgages.”

Starmer spoke on a visit to Bassetlaw Hospital in Nottinghamshire, where he was campaigning to unseat UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the election on July 4.

Macron’s decision rattled markets, sending yields on French bonds surging, an echo of the chaos that coincided with Liz Truss’s brief tenure as UK prime minister. Starmer this week has sought to deliver no surprises that could upset investors.

“The same would be true of spending commitments, then you lose control of the economy, and it’s working people that pay the price,” he said.

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