Labour’s ‘crabwise’ approach to closer EU ties must address damage of Brexit

Rachel Reeves, who said last month that Brexit did ‘deep damage’, attends a discussion in Washington before going to the IMF spring meetings. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/Treasury

Rachel Reeves joined EU finance ministers for dinner in Washington last week, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund spring meetings – the first time a chancellor had done so since Brexit.

It was the latest symbolic step in Labour’s marked shift towards prioritising closer EU relations.