Why this is a Brexit-free election in the UK

Labour will do little more than “tinkering around the edges of the current relationship” with the EU and will fail to address the “continuing economic impacts of Brexit”, a damning report has concluded. UK in a Changing Europe said Labour has ruled out changes that would have yielded significant growth. Director Anand Menon argued there is a Brexit “omerta” from political parties across the spectrum. It’s not as though shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is unaware of the economic upside of a rethink: on Monday, she told the FT that she accepted the Office for Budget Responsibility’s assessment that staying outside the EU would cost 4 per cent of Britain’s productivity potential. But for now economics is playing second fiddle to realpolitik. In Menon’s view there is no real appetite to rejoin. Instead, he says: “What there is an appetite for is not to talk about this ever again – ever.”