Britain's Hammond says no-deal Brexit would harm its people

 

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond leaves 11 Downing Steet in London, Britain, December 17, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond said it would be against British people's interests to leave the European Union without an exit deal, but declined to say how the government would respond if parliament refused to back its Brexit plans.

 

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 a vote in the lower house next Tuesday.

 

May has refused to retreat from her unpopular deal, whichenvisages 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.

 

British lawmakers earlier on Wednesday demanded the government come up with a plan B within days if she loses the vote on her deal to leave the European Union.

 

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.

 

Hammond was speaking after Airbus <AIR.PA> Chief Executive Tom Enders stepped up pressure on decision-makers to end months of uncertainty over the terms for Britain's departure.

 

The company, which employs 14,000 people in Britain and builds most of its commercial airplane wings there, has spent tens of millions of euros on contingency plans including extra stockpiling of parts in anticipation of border delays.

 

"What we and many other British businesses need most urgently, is for politicians from all sides to come together and pass a pragmatic agreement that allows an orderly Brexit," Enders said, with Hammond and other politicians in the audience.

 

"We don't see any specific benefits in the current deal. It's just a lot less bad than a 'no deal'," he added.

 

A so-called 'hard Brexit' with no deal could have consequences for future Airbus investment in Britain, Enders said, reiterating previous warnings.

 

Responding to Enders' comments in a speech, Hammond said the government's job was to ensure "that it will be business logic that keeps you here in the years ahead."

 

Airbus is planning for a no-deal Brexit as its "baseline" scenario, according to a November staff memo.

 

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-10

Could the top Tories' true intent be, in agreeing to such a bad deal,  to lose the commons vote? Then reason a new referendum is a better option than a no deal exit. She was a remainder after all.

6 minutes ago, pegman said:

Could the top Tories' true intent be, in agreeing to such a bad deal,  to lose the commons vote? Then reason a new referendum is a better option than a no deal exit. She was a remainder after all.

To be honest I think they are simply a dog chasing its own tail, at this stage.

30 minutes ago, webfact said:

"What we and many other British businesses need most urgently, is for politicians from all sides to come together and pass a pragmatic agreement that allows an orderly Brexit," Enders said, with Hammond and other politicians in the audience.

 

"We don't see any specific benefits in the current deal. It's just a lot less bad than a 'no deal'," he added.

 

A so-called 'hard Brexit' with no deal could have consequences for future Airbus investment in Britain, Enders said, reiterating previous warnings.

That's brexit situation in a nutshell. 

 

Brexit in the way the nationalistic WWII and possible WWI veterans understand.

 

- Brexit vote - "Let's go to war. Let's buy a hand grenade"

- Triggering Article 50 - Taking safety clip off and releasing the lever of the grenade 

- 2 year negotiation period - waiting for the grenade to blow off

- May's deal - throwing the grenade upwards and hoping not too many people get hurt

- No-deal brexit - not letting go of he grenade and watching it to blow off to one's face

 

"The easiest grenade throw in the world. I could be done in a few seconds."

 

"plan B"?

 

Plan C if they have the nerve.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 20197 yr by Enoon

JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) just announced 5,000 redundancies.

Quote

 

The company has sounded some of the most urgent warnings among UK manufacturers about the damage that Brexit uncertainty was doing to investment in the UK.

In July last year, the company said it needed more certainty around Brexit in order to continue investing in its UK operations and warned that a "no-deal" Brexit would cost the company more than £1.2bn in profit each year.

Most commentators have concluded that the chance of a no-deal Brexit have increased with the governor of the Bank of England recently describing the probability as "uncomfortably high".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46810473

 

 

30 minutes ago, Basil B said:

JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) just announced 5,000 redundancies.

 

If you read the post correctly it says UP TO 5,000 redundancies. A little further along it explains why.

 

quote "

Management, marketing and administrative roles are expected to be hardest hit, but some production staff may also be affected.

The layoffs are part of a £2.5bn cost-cutting plan amid what industry insiders have called a "perfect storm".

They mean a downturn in Chinese sales, a slump in diesel sales and concerns about UK competitiveness post-Brexit.

JLR is particularly exposed to the first two of these factors.

China is the company's biggest and hitherto most profitable market. But sales in China have fallen nearly 50% in recent months as cautious Chinese consumers have been holding back on big ticket purchases amid global trade tensions."

 

It is more a case of dropping sales by nearly 50% in China and a slump in the sales of diesel vehicles rather than mainly caused by Brexit.

 

As Frank Carson used to say. "It's the way I tell 'em".

Edited January 10, 20197 yr by billd766
edited for bad spelling after I had posted it.

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.

 

After of course my old Etonian chums fellow millionaires especially foreign ones tax havens and my wine cellar with the only caveat being the expats who we have successfully hung out to dry after throwing them under Boris's Brexit bus with our never ending party infighting ????  

Ah another one sided lead story !


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

It would indeed be against the best interests of the British people to leave without a deal or leave at all as many more now seem to think.

 

But it certainly isn't in their best interests to leave with a crap deal that even most of the Tory party don't want.

 

May and he ramshackle third rate cabinet keep flogging this dead horse and apparently have no clue what they'll do when they're defeated in parliament.

 

They've ran the clock down deliberately to frustrate alternatives and try and force acceptance of this piss-poor deal. 

 

The only sensible decision is to withdraw Article 50, and put it to the people either in a referendum or General Election. But they are much to selfish, arrogant and stupid to do that.

27 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

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.

 

After of course my old Etonian chums fellow millionaires especially foreign ones tax havens and my wine cellar with the only caveat being the expats who we have successfully hung out to dry after throwing them under Boris's Brexit bus with our never ending party infighting ????  

I wonder, Squire, if you would be so kind as to translate this mish-mash into ...er...English.

57 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

It would indeed be against the best interests of the British people to leave without a deal or leave at all as many more now seem to think.

 

But it certainly isn't in their best interests to leave with a crap deal that even most of the Tory party don't want.

 

May and he ramshackle third rate cabinet keep flogging this dead horse and apparently have no clue what they'll do when they're defeated in parliament.

 

They've ran the clock down deliberately to frustrate alternatives and try and force acceptance of this piss-poor deal. 

 

The only sensible decision is to withdraw Article 50, and put it to the people either in a referendum or General Election. But they are much to selfish, arrogant and stupid to do that.

It would indeed be against the best interests of the British people to leave without a deal or leave at all as many more now seem to think.

 THE MANY MORE ARE WHO?

51 minutes ago, leither69 said:

It would indeed be against the best interests of the British people to leave without a deal or leave at all as many more now seem to think.

 THE MANY MORE ARE WHO?

Latest poll says 46% want to remain, 39% want to leave (and 15% don't know, or don't care).

ANY kind of Brexit will harm the people as businesses continue to warn. My main concern would be the value of the baht if a no deal Brexit comes about 

4 minutes ago, Jonnapat said:

ANY kind of Brexit will harm the people as businesses continue to warn. My main concern would be the value of the baht if a no deal Brexit comes about 

surely, it is upon the parliament to plan the future of UK

so that your interest in baht is safeguarded

 

 

It's really going to be worth to watch when UK starts using WTO deals worldwide. It will be the 2nd country to trade with only WTO rules, after Mauritania. 

https://medium.com/@MrWeeble/who-actually-trades-solely-under-wto-rules-1b6127ce33c6

 

Here is the list of the current countries EU and therefore UK trades with WTO rules. These are the 24 countries EU has not yet made a trade deal. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-41859691

2 hours ago, Jonnapat said:

ANY kind of Brexit will harm the people as businesses continue to warn. My main concern would be the value of the baht if a no deal Brexit comes about 

Honest, at least. Finally.

10 hours ago, pegman said:

Could the top Tories' true intent be, in agreeing to such a bad deal,  to lose the commons vote? Then reason a new referendum is a better option than a no deal exit. She was a remainder after all.

Could be that. But you seem to have accepted that if there was another vote then it would favour remain.  Yet many Brexiteers claim that with another vote the leave vote would actually strengthen. 

 

Now the consequences of Brexit are know I wonder which way it would go?

What about all the non-UK people with big/small businesses and/or interests who don't know what is going to happen?!?

They are unable to prepare because the UK can not make up their mind; because the UK is stupid enough to leave the EU, all people in EU countries suffer and have to deal with the indecisiveness of the UK. Not fair!

9 minutes ago, JulesMad said:

What about all the non-UK people with big/small businesses and/or interests who don't know what is going to happen?!?

They are unable to prepare because the UK can not make up their mind; because the UK is stupid enough to leave the EU, all people in EU countries suffer and have to deal with the indecisiveness of the UK. Not fair!

I am a UK person with a small business and have made a contingency plan for after Brexit should it end with a no-deal or a bad deal.  I have set up (with five other small businesses) a base in Holland.  There are hundreds of other businesses doing the same thing at the moment 

3 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

I am a UK person with a small business and have made a contingency plan for after Brexit should it end with a no-deal or a bad deal.  I have set up (with five other small businesses) a base in Holland.  There are hundreds of other businesses doing the same thing at the moment 

That is smart and good preparation! However I am talking about non-UK people who run small businesses in other countries that do/did business with UK. They are unable to prepare because UK is so f***ing indecisive and they had no saying in the whole affair at all (unlike the Brits)

19 minutes ago, JulesMad said:

What about all the non-UK people with big/small businesses and/or interests who don't know what is going to happen?!?

They are unable to prepare because the UK can not make up their mind; because the UK is stupid enough to leave the EU, all people in EU countries suffer and have to deal with the indecisiveness of the UK. Not fair!

No it isn't. And I can only apologise on behalf of the 'remain' half of the UK.

6 hours ago, leither69 said:

It would indeed be against the best interests of the British people to leave without a deal or leave at all as many more now seem to think.

 THE MANY MORE ARE WHO?

Most of the reasonable UK citizens I would think.

29 minutes ago, JulesMad said:

That is smart and good preparation! However I am talking about non-UK people who run small businesses in other countries that do/did business with UK. They are unable to prepare because UK is so f***ing indecisive and they had no saying in the whole affair at all (unlike the Brits)

Totally agree.  I spend a lot of time apologising to my business contacts in Europe

7 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

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.

 

After of course my old Etonian chums fellow millionaires especially foreign ones tax havens and my wine cellar with the only caveat being the expats who we have successfully hung out to dry after throwing them under Boris's Brexit bus with our never ending party infighting ????  

But did he actually say that?

46 minutes ago, JulesMad said:

That is smart and good preparation! However I am talking about non-UK people who run small businesses in other countries that do/did business with UK. They are unable to prepare because UK is so f***ing indecisive and they had no saying in the whole affair at all (unlike the Brits)

Of course they are able to prepare. Who or what is stopping them?

 

You always prepare for the worst case and from then on it is easier if the worst case doesn't happen.

 

Any business that doesn't plan for the worst case, even if it never happens shouldn't be in business.

Edited January 10, 20197 yr by billd766
added extra text

6 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

Latest poll says 46% want to remain, 39% want to leave (and 15% don't know, or don't care).

Is that poll by the same people who said the Brexit vote would be 'no' (and Hillary would win the US elections)?

1 hour ago, dunroaming said:

Now the consequences of Brexit are know I wonder which way it would go?

What consequences?

How do you know?

 

Project fear is in full flood with more and more BS.

6 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

Latest poll says 46% want to remain, 39% want to leave (and 15% don't know, or don't care).

  Update , 15% dont  care anymore . Expected to increase daily .

Edited January 10, 20197 yr by elliss

13 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

What consequences?

How do you know?

I don't know that soon a beautiful woman won't be banging on my bedroom door demanding uncomplicated sex.

I don't know if Mrs baboon would mind too much if I knock her about a bit.

I don't know that the earth isn't flat.

However I won't be taking the gamble on my being wrong.

 

So this is it, now? Support Brexit because you don't know for sure that it will be a catastrophe? Forget that bit about the extra NHS money? Forget that 'Easiest deal in history'? Forget the "No downside"? Forget that Brexiteers weren't exactly scrambling for the PM's job? Forget that they aren't even trying to send a consistent message anymore?

 

There are plentiful reasons to resent the EU. But given the shysters in the UK and what passes for their objections, I'll stay in, thanks.