Thursday Aug 29 2019 15:36
2 min
Those fearing a hard Brexit have been dealt another blow this week. The Prime Minister will suspend Parliament between mid-September and October, drastically limiting the amount of time opposition MPs have to block his attempts to walk away from the EU with no deal in place.
Although Parliament does traditionally close before the annual Queen’s Speech, this year scheduled for October 14th, the proximity to the Brexit deadline has caused outrage amongst the opposition.
Sterling plunged yesterday on the news, dropping as low as 1.2155 before paring losses, although not enough to prevent it from wiping out all of Tuesday gains by the close of trading. The weakness in the pound has been a small factor today in pushing the FTSE 100 up 1.1% to a five-day high just under resistance at 7,200.
The gloves are really coming off now. Such was the outrage caused by Johnson’s move to suspend Parliament that rebel MPs from his own party joined forces with the opposition to call for a legal injunction to stop it from happening.
With just a couple of weeks to make a move, opponents of a no deal Brexit may have to strike hard and fast. Markets may bet that the opposition will finally be compelled to act decisively – Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested he will call a vote of no confidence in the government when the time is right. He may not have much time left to choose from.
Even if a vote is called though, Johnson could refuse to hold an election until after Brexit has taken place. Remain-supporting MPs are running out of time and options. The markets are firmly pricing in a no deal Brexit, and this seems to be an almost-certainty unless the EU caves at the last second.
However, the latest developments suggest that tensions could continue after the UK has officially departed. A general election could be on the way. The battle for Brexit looks almost won, but the battle for No. 10 may be just about to start.
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