Brussels and Downing Street have played down speculation about a breakthrough in Brexit talks. Reports that a Brexit deal could safeguard the City’s access to European Union markets led to an increase in the value of sterling.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned interest rates could rise in the event of a no-deal Brexit if a cliff-edge withdrawal sends the pound into free fall. Mr. Carney said there are scenarios where policy “might need to be tightened in the event of a no deal, no transition Brexit”, should a plunge in the value of the pound cause inflation to surge and impact UK production.
Brexit deal involving a customs union and a “close” relationship with the single market would win a majority in the Commons and have the backing of business, John McDonnell has said. The shadow chancellor said Labour MPs would vote in favor of a Brexit deal that “protects jobs and the economy” but acknowledged that was “not the way it is at the moment” under Theresa May’s strategy.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced on Tuesday announced a major expansion of Britain's diplomatic network around the world, five months before it leaves the European Union. For the first time, people from outside the civil service will be eligible to become ambassadors as the Foreign Office seeks to swell its numbers by almost 1,000.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has said the “era of austerity is finally coming to an end”, in his last Budget before Brexit. He spent a windfall from better public finances on more money for universal credit and bringing forward planned income tax cuts by a year.
The increased likelihood of a no-deal Brexit scenario has led ratings agency Fitch to envision serious damages to the United Kingdom's economy for future assessments, although it maintained Britain's long-term AA grade... For now.
A no-deal Brexit could slam the brakes on the UK’s economic growth, wiping out Chancellor Philip Hammond’s hopes of boosting public spending, a think tank has said. If the UK fails to reach a withdrawal deal with the EU and moves on to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules next March, GDP growth can be expected to slow sharply from 1.4% this year to 0.3% in both 2019 and 2020, said the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr).
Brexit brings a chance to strengthen ties between Argentina and the Falkland Islands, the country's foreign minister Jorge Faurie said in London. Faurie met with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and the pair discussed increasing trade and travel links between the Falkland Islands and South America.
A no-deal Brexit may be the “most likely outcome” of the UK’s negotiations with the EU, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has told MSPs. The First Minister said that while the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc are 95% agreed, there remains an “impasse” over the issue of the Irish border.
The House of Lords EU Select Committee has written to Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab urging him not to stand in the way of Parliamentary scrutiny, and to honor his previous commitment to give evidence to Committees “on a regular basis”.