-Eyes on Hammond’s last budget before Brexit
The U.K. Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the last budget before the country’s planned departure from the European Union. Political woes and the ramping up of a no deal Brexit plans weighed on the pound last week and now all eyes will focus on the U.K.’s new budget on Monday, which promises to see the end of the austerity measures. Also this week, markets will watch consumer confidence data on Wednesday and the Bank of England’s interest rate decision on Thursday.
The budget will carry great importance to realize the U.K.’s public finance projections and to determine the Treasury’s post-Brexit plans. Hammond is also expected to bolster morale among a divided Tory party with full support behind the prime minister.
-What is the U.K. government’s emergency plan?
Hammond warned that the U.K. economy would have to strike out in a "different direction" if the British government is unable to agree on a Brexit deal with Brussels, speaking on BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show.
"If our businesses are no longer able to trade with European Union neighbors, if their supply chains are cut off, they will have to find different markets and different ways of doing business. The economy will change. It will have to restructure itself over a period of time and that will be a fairly major transition," Hammond said.
In the case of a no deal Brexit, some financial allotment should be made for injection into the economy. However, Hammond has been known as a very cautious player in the cabinet as has managed to stay out of the rift between the U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and the former Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, who has led the hard Brexit campaign and left the cabinet criticizing the government’s soft Brexit approach. However, Hammond’s support of May on Monday, Oct. 29 proved his reliability as an ally during the difficult challenges with Brexit.