Nothing else has worked – so Starmer and Reeves are finally telling the truth about Brexit

Rachel Reeves, UK chancellor at the IMF headquarters in Washington, on 17 October 2025. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

The UK government is trying out a new Brexit stance, not to be mistaken for a change in policy. The shift is tonal.

Previously, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves talked about Britain’s detachment from the rest of Europe as a feature of the natural landscape, awkward to navigate perhaps, but nobody’s fault. Now they are prepared to say it is an affliction.