Just hours after PM Theresa May suffered an early defeat to her Brexit plans, Chancellor Philip Hammond has now said that it would be against British people’s interests to leave the EU without an exit deal.
With less than three months before Britain is due to leave the EU, Britain’s parliament on Wednesday began a five-day debate over Minister Theresa May’s deal with the rest of the bloc ahead of the crucial vote next Tuesday.
May has refused to retreat from her unpopular deal, which envisages close trading ties with the EU after leaving in March, pressing ahead with a vote she is expected to lose.
“I firmly believe that my job is to look after the welfare and interests of the British people and I conclude that it would not be in their interests to leave without a deal,” Hammond told an annual reception hosted by European planemaker Airbus.
Asked how in that situation the government would prevent a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, Hammond told Reuters: “We are very determined that we need a deal. We need a deal that allows us to continue to co-operate and to have a smooth and orderly exit and we’ll make sure that we do.”
May’s allies have said there is no ‘plan B’ that would break the parliamentary deadlock.
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