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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Jonathan Freedland

Rachel Reeves is studiously ignoring the cause of Britain’s woes: the Brexit-shaped hole in the roof

A person wears a mask depicting the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, outside the Treasury on 19 November 2025.
A person wears a mask depicting the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, outside the Treasury on 19 November 2025. Photograph: Carlos Jasso/AFP/Getty Images

Imagine a family stuck in a house that constantly floods. The carpets are soaked, the walls damp. It’s always cold, no matter how much they turn up the heating.

The family try everything. They promise to replace the sodden carpets and find new, innovative ways to warm the house. Someone with a laptop wonders if AI might be the answer. But no one ever looks upwards and says: maybe we should just repair the giant hole in the roof.

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