Labour cannot make people’s lives better until it dares to start talking about Brexit

theguardian.com:

As I struggled to buy calamine lotion last week to treat a toddler with chickenpox, the political silence about what effect leaving the European Union is having on medicine supply chains hit hard.

This experience is not unique. Whether it is businesses overwhelmed with red tape, care homes missing staff or rising food prices, the public are asking why such difficulties keep happening – and finding that MPs are avoiding giving an honest answer, let alone a solution. To fix something, you first must name it. And that means getting over the myth that talking about Europe is code for re-running referendums.

For fear of saying the wrong thing, many in Labour claim it is better to say nothing at all about Brexit. But such reticence does not honour those who voted Leave – or Remain. Each wanted their vote to mean something better than chaos at the borders or businesses in peril. Post-Brexit, there are many ways forward for the UK and the EU – and most don’t end in a trade war as a distraction from a prime minister’s personal misconduct.

Silence also means Boris Johnson gets to define what – if any – future relationship Britain can have with Europe. Indeed, the more Labour shies away, the easier it is to misrepresent us as wearing blue berets with gold stars on, singing Ode to Joy and pleading with the EU to take us back.

In 2010, Labour chose not to talk about what Gordon Brown did to avert the financial crisis. In 2022, voters still believe Labour “maxed out” the credit card. The notion we were fiscally irresponsible became part of British political folklore. Thus George Osborne’s austerity wasn’t confronted until it was too late. Without action now, any future Labour government will be hamstrung by the dogma that “European” means