Pound jumped to $1.2780 against the dollar after PM’s office said today that Parliament’s vote on Brexit deal will go ahead on December 11.
Theresa May also told the BBC that she “is talking to colleagues” about their concerns over the Northern Ireland “backstop” ahead of a crucial vote on her EU deal.
She suggested MPs could be “given a role” in deciding whether to activate the backstop, which is designed to stop the return of a physical border.
But she told the BBC there could be no deal with the EU without it.
However, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbench MPs, Sir Graham Brady, told BBC that he “would welcome the vote being deferred” until there was “clarity” on the backstop issue.
And in another development, the European Court of Justice said it would deliver a ruling on Monday on whether the UK could unilaterally cancel Brexit by reversing Article 50 – the day before the MPs’ crunch vote.
Simon Harvey, Market Analyst at Monex Europe commented on the possible Brexit outcomes and what impact this will have on sterling.
“The next 3 weeks can only go in a binary direction; either the deal is passed or it is rejected. It is highly unlikely that it will be adjusted or resubmitted to the Commons before the Christmas break, leaving much of the uncertainty to the New Year. Either May will get an early Christmas present on December 11th or a big decision to mull over during the festive period.”
Leave a Comment