![\"Rachel](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6dd386d081bf75b91a3ae55e237900b5.jpeg\")
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said there was a considerable prize from closer integration with the EU (Yui Mok\/PA) \u00b7 Yui Mok <\/p>\nThe UK should follow more of the European Union\u2019s rules to boost trade and cut prices, Rachel Reeves has claimed.<\/p>\n
The Chancellor warned the UK risked being \u201cstranded\u201d between rival trading blocs unless it sought a closer relationship with Brussels.<\/p>\n
She said the UK would still diverge from the EU\u2019s regulations in some areas but they would be \u201cthe exception, not the norm\u201d.<\/p>\n
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said there was a considerable prize from closer integration with the EU (Yui Mok\/PA) \u00b7 Yui Mok <\/p>\n
The Chancellor, delivering the annual Mais Lecture at the Bayes Business School in London, put greater economic co-operation with Europe at the centre of her plan to kickstart the UK\u2019s weak growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prize is considerable,\u201d Ms Reeves said, claiming closer alignment would help bring down prices and inflation.<\/p>\n
Brexit had created \u201cprofound uncertainty\u201d and left the UK facing the risk of being \u201cstranded between powerful trading blocs as globalisation retreats\u201d, she warned.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur fate as a country is inescapably bound with that of Europe,\u201d the Chancellor added.<\/p>\n
Setting out the \u201cdeep damage\u201d of Brexit, Ms Reeves said it had hit gross domestic product (GDP) \u2013 a measure of the size of the economy \u2013 by up to 8% and contributed to higher prices for businesses and consumers.<\/p>\n
She insisted she was not trying to \u201cturn back the clock\u201d on Brexit but to build a \u201cnew and stable future relationship\u201d with Brussels.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere it is in our national interest to align with EU regulation, we should be prepared to do so, including in further areas of the single market,\u201d the Chancellor said.<\/p>\n
Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivering the Mais Lecture (Yui Mok\/PA) \u00b7 Yui Mok <\/p>\n
\u201cA decision to align should be taken where it would mean higher growth and investment, more jobs and consumer benefits, where the future direction of policy is stable and compatible with the UK\u2019s values and objectives and where the UK\u2019s economy and national security and resilience are preserved or enhanced.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen those principles are satisfied, alignment should be forward-looking and durable, providing the certainty that businesses on both sides need to invest and grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, there are areas in which regulatory autonomy may be necessary for sectors with unique characteristics or strategic importance for the UK, but that should be the exception, not the norm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Reeves acknowledged she would have to \u201cmake and win the political argument\u201d, with Brexit supporters viewing the ability to diverge from Brussels as one of the key benefits of the UK\u2019s exit from the EU.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThe truth is this: Britain\u2019s future prosperity will not be built in isolation, but through partnerships with those who share our interests, share our values and share our ambitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd no partnership is more important than that between the UK and our European neighbours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Story continues <\/p>\n
Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers the Mais Lecture at the Bayes Business School in central London (Yui Mok\/PA) <\/p>\n
Closer alignment with Brussels \u201cis the right course for our country, a course chosen as a sovereign nation, a course chosen in our national interest\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ms Reeves also set out plans to increase regional economic growth, including by giving local elected leaders greater spending powers, with proposals to hand them a share of income tax and other national levies to invest in their areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat most distinguishes Britain from our closest peers is the relative underperformance of our major cities outside of London compared to their European counterparts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are huge gains to be made if we can only close that gap, if we back Manchester and Liverpool and Leeds to match and overtake Stuttgart, Turin and Lyon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Reeves said a plan for future fiscal devolution, setting out proposals to give regional leaders control of a share of national taxes, would be published along with the budget later this year.<\/p>\n
The Chancellor also set out \u201ccity investment funds\u201d backed by \u00a32.3 billion of funding, focused on northern England and the West Midlands, giving regional leaders control of \u201clong-term, self-sustaining capital\u201d to invest, with a commitment to the retention of business rates.<\/p>\n
Ms Reeves also promised action to support artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies.<\/p>\n
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride accused the Chancellor of \u2018gaslighting the public to cover her own failures\u2019 (Stefan Rousseau\/PA) \u00b7 Stefan Rousseau <\/p>\n
A \u00a3500 million sovereign AI unit is intended to help AI firms grow and stay in the UK, an AI adoption summit will be held in June and a new AI Economics Institute will examine the impact of the technology on jobs.<\/p>\n
Up to \u00a32 billion will be spent over the next decade on quantum technology.<\/p>\n
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride claimed the focus on Brexit was an attempt to distract from the damage done by Labour in office.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cRachel Reeves wants to blame everybody else but herself for her dreadful management of the economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter \u00a366 billion in tax rises, growth has stalled, business confidence has collapsed, inflation is higher and unemployment is rising.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut instead of owning the damage she\u2019s done, Reeves is dragging us back into the old Brexit arguments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Chancellor is utterly deluded and gaslighting the public to cover her own failures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naomi Smith, chief executive at Best for Britain \u2013 which campaigns for closer UK-EU ties, welcomed the Chancellor\u2019s \u201coverdue shift in tone\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWhile alignment on food, drink and energy are excellent first steps, they barely move the growth needle, because the real boon for the UK and the EU comes from deeper co-operation across the board: aligning all industrial and service sectors would claw back half of the GDP the OBR calculates the UK lost since Brexit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK should follow more of the European Union\u2019s rules to boost trade and cut prices, Rachel Reeves…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[5028,18,5030,5027,5031,5029],"class_list":{"0":"post-6948","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brussels","8":"tag-bayes-business-school","9":"tag-brussels","10":"tag-national-interest","11":"tag-rachel-reeves","12":"tag-the-chancellor","13":"tag-the-uk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116251105994888778","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}