Brexit had bigger impact on UK economy than critics predicted, Rachel Reeves says
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-uk-economy-rachel-reeves-b2849278.html
Posted by F0urLeafCl0ver
Brexit had bigger impact on UK economy than critics predicted, Rachel Reeves says
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-uk-economy-rachel-reeves-b2849278.html
Posted by F0urLeafCl0ver
21 Comments
The thing is, she might be right, but that doesn’t mean she’s not responsible for the economy today. All this feels like hiding behind a generally agreed aphorism to hide the fact she seems to be doing a notably unsteady job of her role today in 2025.
All this to prep and ground work for massive tax increases next month and the dropping of manifesto commitments.
She’s right.
It’s also a little incredulous to only be making these comments 18 months after taking power (and after clearly failing to get a grip on our deep, structural economic issues), and 10 years after the Brexit referendum itself, and when you and your party have largely been cheerleading Brexit during that entire period.
It feels more like the ever-present focus groups have indicated a slim benefit to (mildly) criticising Brexit again rather than some genuine argument from Reeves and co. here.
No, I’m pretty sure they predicted that we’d be screwed over.
She didn’t mention Brexit at the last budget only that she wouldn’t be coming back for more tax rises.
She says that but I remember the vitrol around the economic, I mean critics were saying that 500,000 jobs would leave, the UK would enter a recession and the Pound would lose all value all within two years of leaving the EU. Yet none of this happened even the speculated -3.6% GDP change never happened after Covid with the economy failing to recover 1.8%, making a -1.8% lost in total when comparing pre and post Covid.
This feels like a very very weak defense to her own struggles in office and trying to use Brexit as a get out of jail free card.
It’s an awful decision by the government’s communication team to decide to attack Brexit for the damage it has caused whilst also maintaining the position that they won’t rejoin the Customs Union/Single Market.
“Brexit has been bad for the UK economy”
*So will you reverse it?*
“Absolutely not”
Every single journalist should ask that question when Reeves tries to use Brexit as the reason for economic stagnation.
So what about all the trade deals your boss is making? You can’t blame Brexit while the PM is setting up trade deals..
Pre-justification – she’ll use this as the *sudden revelation* to raise taxes (everyone knows this anyway…)
I’d be less annoyed if she was upfront about it. But this all too predictable ploy to test the waters a month before policy announcement/new budget is insulting.
…she will probably not even last the whole parliament, so at least we don’t have to see or hear from her for much longer.
I might sound a bit childish or stupid but I’ll never get why Brexit is always discussed in terms of economical impacts, it seems that it was purely an economic choice. No one ever thinks about the cultural impact, that’s the main damage Brexit brought.
The annual growth rates over the past ten years show UK and EU average GDP growth has been extremely similar, we’re talking .1% difference at most which is margin of error. With us being a smidge ahead of France. So where’s the proof, if it isn’t evident in growth? Closing a .1% gap is not going to turn the UK around regardless, our focus should instead be on why the USA has grown twice as fast as the EU since 2008. EU policy has completely failed on growth and won’t bail out Labour, even if we rejoin the bloc tomorrow.
Labour desperately trying to justify fucking over the working class. The did the same thing with the “black hole” the tories left. They added to it and justified tax rises.
A lot of people foresaw this. You can really distinguish between a pre-Brexit and post-Brexit economic landscape.
Easiest prediction of all time back in 2016.
Anyone who didn’t see it is still whining about immigration and demonstrating a lack of understanding of how our economy functions to this very day. And those idiots will still vote for the man who caused all of this.
It’s beyond satire.
Nah, they’re using brexit to shift the blame off an on already a stagnant economy
How come the ordinary people knew this yet the overpaid experts didn’t
The people were asked they voted. It’s not best out of 3 . First it was farage boats..now this .
Desperate attempts by Labour
Terrible that labour are admitting it now.
Now it just looks like they are incompetent and using it as an excuse…. When I am sure it actually did play a large part.
No only that, the rest of Europe can’t allow others to follow, so we are getting fucked from every angle possible. And we deserve it, it achieved nothing. Ironically if we hadn’t left I wouldn’t want my free travel back so I can ditch this shit show.
Labour can’t win on this. If they rejoin the EU, they won’t get a good as deal as the had. Farage will use it as an excuse that Europe hates us. If we stay the same people will say they are bottle merchants who don’t stand up for principals.
We did this to ourselves in our vain belief Britain paid too much to Europe and was controlled by Brussels. Now we are under the influence of rich companies who can’t be bothered to pay inflation wages while moaning about actually paying tax.
She’s just flat-out lying at this point. We all remember the [Treasury](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36355564) and the [Bank of England](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/12/bank-of-england-keeps-interest-rates-on-hold-as-brexit-fears-bite) predicting a recession. Instead we’ve performed in-line with France and better than Germany since Brexit.
Worse than we would have inside the EU? Maybe? Worse than, or even simply as badly as, projected? Not in the slightest.