Reuters Insider - UK Day Ahead: PM Theresa May battles to stay in driving seat
25/03/2019 18:03
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.insider.thomsonreuters.com/link?entryId=1_qpendm8y&referenceId=1_qpendm8y&pageId=ReutersNews Source: Reuters Insider Description: UK Prime Minister Theresa May's statement on Brexit will be followed by a debate on the next steps forward later today. Ahead of that. the Financial Times reported that May had abandoned plans to bring the withdrawal agreement back to parliament this week. Short Link: https://reut.rs/2HShn3w Video Transcript: Good afternoon. I'm Angeline Ong - welcome to your insight into Tuesday. UK Prime Minister Theresa May's statement on Brexit will be followed by a debate on the next steps forward. However, as time ticks on, it's becoming increasingly clear that there is not enough appetite to even bring back a meaningful vote for her deal this week. The leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster, has told May that nothing had changed in their position on the divorce deal. British Trade Minister Liam Fox said that leaving with no deal remains possible but the will of Parliament makes it unlikely. He also said if Parliament holds a series of indicative votes, the government cannot be held to honor them. It may well be the Parliament wants to look at a set of options. They can't be binding on the government. I was elected on a manifesto and I'm answerable to my voters, not to the House of Commons. I made a pledge, as did all conservative MPs to their voters that we would leave the single market and leave the Customs Union. We can't change that around. The FT believes Mrs. May has abandoned plans to bring the withdrawal agreement back to parliament this week. This would suggest the PM has conceded that lawmakers are likely to take over the Brexit process. May's allies say that cabinet recognized a cross-party group of MPs, led by former Tory minister Oliver Letwin, would win a vote on Monday night on an amendment to take control of the Commons order paper. I believe we can and I think it's critically important that we do. The country sent a clear instruction at the time of the referendum, 17.4 million people said that we need to vote, to leave the European Union. The prime minister is honoring that, she's doing everything she can in order to get the deal over the line and we should support her in that effort. Sterling recovered from earlier losses on reports that Theresa May will bring her withdrawal agreement back to Parliament for a third time. At the moment, though, currency derivative markets signal a growing caution for sterling, with volatility against the euro and the dollar at multi-month highs. A better outcome for the currency would be if MPs decided to revoke Britain's exit from the EU. That's unlikely to happen - so traders will just have to settle for something a little softer than a full-scale, no deal Brexit. Mrs. May has come under intense pressure over the last few days to either stand down or announce when she'll stand down. So far she's digging in - and many observers say it's just not in her nature to give up. This is a pivotal week, though, not just for Brexit, but for the government and, indeed, Mrs. May herself. European stocks also pared losses after upbeat German data which suggested that the country's economy was potentially going to pick up speed again in the coming months. The FTSE 100 is down around 0.5%, the CAC is down 0.25% and the DAX, that's down about 0.2%. Remember in the coming week, we also got French Q4 GDP data and business morale figures from there as well. That's it for now - I'm Angeline Ong, and this is Reuters