It’s tempting to see Brexit as a watershed moment in Britain’s political economy. Brexit was merely one episode in a long series of abdications of responsibility by British leaders. Free-market Brexiteers like Daniel Hannan assured us that Brexit would allow the UK to deregulate and improve competitiveness:“It’s 24 June 2025 …. Figure 2: Government Debt to GDP Ratios in the UK, France, and Germany. The UK minimum wage is now two-thirds of the median wage; that ratio is one of the highest in the OECD.