British Prime Minister Theresa May faces a battle over trade in parliament on Tuesday, with pro-EU lawmakers hoping to influence her plans to leave the European Union a day after she bowed to demands from Brexit campaigners.
May’s vulnerability in parliament, where she lost her Conservative Party’s majority in an ill-judged election last year, was laid bare on Monday, when her decision to accept the demands of pro-Brexit lawmakers stirred a rebellion among those who want to keep the closest possible ties in the EU.
On two of Monday’s votes her majority was cut to three, suggesting that the leader will struggle to get Brexit legislation through a deeply divided parliament, which could possibly threaten the approval of any Brexit deal with the EU.
May has vowed to stick to her plan to negotiate the closest possible trade ties with the EU, saying her strategy is the only one that can meet the government’s aims for Brexit, the biggest shift in Britain’s foreign and trade policy for decades.
But it has pleased very few, deepening those divisions in her Conservative Party that have so far hampered progress in talks with the EU, and triggering a bitter war of words between its Brexit-supporting and pro-EU factions.
“We can’t please everybody. We have to have a compromise position that enables the country to get an agreement with the European Union,” trade minister Liam Fox told BBC radio.
“It’s up now to the EU 27 to determine what sort of relationship they have with us.”
Tuesday’s vote will be on the trade bill, which is focused on converting trade deals between the EU and third countries into bilateral deals with Britain. It is a technical bill and was not originally intended to define new trade policy.
Pro-EU lawmakers have tabled a change to the wording of the bill to try to force the government to pursue a customs union with the EU if ministers fail to agree an agreement which establishes “a frictionless free trade area for goods”.
Parliament will also vote on a government attempt to bring forward its summer break to Thursday from next week, which the government says is logical because there is very little parliamentary business in the remaining days.
Critics say the move is a bid by a government panicked by the various rebellions in the Conservative Party.
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
Dean Popplewell
He has a deep understanding of market fundamentals and the impact of global events on capital markets.
He is respected among professional traders for his skilled analysis and career history as global head
of trading for firms such as Scotia Capital and BMO Nesbitt Burns. Since joining OANDA in 2006, Dean
has played an instrumental role in driving awareness of the forex market as an emerging asset class
for retail investors, as well as providing expert counsel to a number of internal teams on how to best
serve clients and industry stakeholders.
Latest posts by Dean Popplewell (see all)
- Euro zone bond yields sink as German manufacturing slows - 24 July 2019
- How Boris Johnson Plans to Deliver Brexit in 100 Days - 24 July 2019
- Weak PMI’s Sink EUR - 24 July 2019