Rachel Reeves mentioned Brexit briefly in her Budget speech.

Referring to the Conservatives, she declared: “Their Brexit deal harmed British businesses.”

It was difficult to know quite what to think about this.

At the margin, it was good to hear the Chancellor acknowledge the truth of the Brexit situation.

However, some might have drawn an inference from what she said that Labour was going to do something significant to address the damage being done by “their Brexit deal”.

It was left to the European Movement UK campaign group to underline the “devastating trade damage” from Brexit in no uncertain terms.

And, importantly, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility also highlighted again the scale of Brexit’s impact.

Labour has of course highlighted some areas in which it would like to see the UK’s post-Brexit arrangements with the European Union improved.

However, the simple fact of the matter is that the new Government’s ambitions, even if realised, would amount to mere tinkering around the edges. Some businesses and sectors might benefit from this tinkering, if progress can be made on the likes of mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

However, Labour’s red lines on Brexit, specifically its ruling out of the UK rejoining the EU or single market, mean that “their Brexit deal”, as Ms Reeves calls it, is very much here to stay.

There will be no return of frictionless trade between the UK and its biggest trading partner. And there will be no return of free movement of people between the UK and European Economic Area, something that could enhance greatly the country’s growth potential and alleviate skills and labour shortages for businesses.

It is important to realise that, while Labour might be making more positive noises about........

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