Britain is pivoting towards Europe

英国正转向欧洲。

Editor's Picks from The Economist

2026-03-24

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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Britain is abandoning its failed post-Brexit orthodoxies. Rachel Reeves, Britain’s chancellor, explains how the ruling Labour Party plans to work with the European Union. Topics covered: Brexit Rachel Reeves European Union Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
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  • Hello, this is Rosie Bloor, co-host of The Intelligence, our daily news and current affairs podcast.

  • Welcome to Editor's Picks.

  • We've chosen an article from the latest edition of The Economist that we thought you might enjoy.

  • Please do have a listen.

  • Rachel Reeves has announced a new diplomatic push to drive Britain closer to the European Union.

  • I have today fired the starting gun of where we want to go next,

  • and that is closer alignment, Britain's Chancellor told The Economist on March 17th.

  • Earlier in the day, in the annual Mays lecture at the Bayes Business School in London,

  • she called time on the era of a globetrotting post-Brexit Britain that could do without Europe.

  • The country's vital national interest lay with its continental neighbours, she said.

  • On March 18th, she made her case at a meeting in Madrid with Carlos Cuepo, the Spanish economy minister.

  • Her European counterparts, she claims, are listening keenly.

  • Since coming to office, Labour has embarked on a cautious rapprochement with the EU.

  • A diplomatic reset has been followed by negotiations for de facto participation in the single market

  • in energy and agricultural products.

  • In recent months, the government has indicated it wants to go further.

  • Yet Ms Reeves' interview marks an escalation, the clearest indication of the scope of the government's new ambition.

  • With it, she has put to the sword the orthodoxies about Britain's place in the world that have underpinned the policy

  • of both Conservative and Labour governments since David Cameron's referendum of 2016.

  • And yet the limits on the push to return to Europe, familiar after ten years of Perma negotiations, can already be seen.