It looks like Keir Starmer\u2019s government is finally acknowledging one of the main reasons behind the UK\u2019s financial difficulty and sluggish growth: Brexit. <\/p>\n
Ever since 2016, government after government has refused to specifically point to Brexit<\/a> as a key reason behind many of the issues of the last few years. <\/p>\n But now, Labour seem ready to do exactly this<\/a>. <\/p>\n READ NEXT: \u2018I want to rejoin the EU\u2026 Brexit has been a disaster\u2019 \u2013 Andy Burnham<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking to Sky News<\/a> on Wednesday morning, chancellor Rachel Reeves said Brexit is partly to blame for the estimated \u00a350bn blackhole<\/a> in the economy that she is likely going to have to address at her autumn budget. <\/p>\n She said the Office of Budget Responsibility have \u201cconsistently overestimated\u201d the UK\u2019s productivity, pointing to the impact of \u201causterity, Brexit and the ongoing impact of Liz Truss\u2019s mini budget.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll of those things have weighed heavily on the UK economy,\u201d Reeves continued. \u201cAlready, people thought that the UK economy would be 4% smaller because of Brexit.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, of course, we are undoing some of that damage by the deal that we did with the EU earlier this year on food and farming, goods moving between us and the continent, on energy and electricity trading, on an ambitious youth mobility scheme.<\/p>\n \u201cBut there is no doubting that the impact of Brexit is severe and long lasting and that\u2019s why we are trying to do trade deals around the world, US, India, but most importantly with the EU so that our exporters here in Britain have a chance to sell things made here all around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n BREAKING: \u201cThere is no doubting that the impact of Brexit is severe and long lasting\u201d says Chancellor Rachel Reeves<\/p>\n It\u2019s about time! pic.twitter.com\/yMOTtWE1Ef<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) October 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The chancellor admitted she was looking at tax rises and spending cuts to address the black hole, but that she would not \u201cduck those challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe numbers will always add up with me as Chancellor because we saw just three years ago what happens when a government, where the Conservatives, lost control of the public finances \u2013 inflation and interest rates went through the roof,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n A chancellor specifically mentioning the B-word as a reason behind the UK\u2019s struggles is refreshing, but it should never have taken this long. <\/p>\n As we\u2019ve suggested previously though, perhaps Brexit could provide Keir Starmer with an electoral trump card<\/a> that could reverse his political fortunes. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n