Pound Sterling hit its lowest level since a January flash crash today as Prime Minister Theresa May’s last-ditch Brexit plan failed to win over either opposition lawmakers or many in her own party.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s final Brexit gambit was in tatters this morning just hours after her offer of a vote on a second referendum and closer trading arrangements failed to win over either opposition lawmakers or many in her own party.
Nearly three years since Britain voted 52% to 48% to leave the European Union, May is trying one last time to get her divorce deal approved by the British parliament before her crisis-riven premiership ends.
May on Tuesday appealed to lawmakers to get behind her deal, offering the prospect of a possible second referendum on the agreement and closer trading arrangements with the EU as incentives.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party could not vote for the Withdrawal Bill, describing May’s new offer as “largely a rehash of the government’s position” in talks with the opposition that broke down last week.
It may depend on the result of the EU parliamentary election over the weekend, but this could mean May resigns over the weekend. It was generally expected by the market, but it became clearer yesterday.
The EU parliamentary election is due to run from Thursday to Sunday, and opinion polls suggest Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party will poll strongly, leaving May’s Conservatives in fourth place.
British inflation rose last month by less than investors and the Bank of England had expected but still hit its highest level this year, pushed up by a rise in energy bills.
Consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 2.1% in April after a 1.9% increase in March, the Office for National Statistics said this morning. A poll of economists had pointed to a rate of 2.2%, the same as the BoE’s forecast.
A recent weakening of inflation, combined with the lowest unemployment rate in 44 years and rising wages, has taken the edge off the uncertainty about Brexit for many households whose spending drives Britain’s economy.