Over the weekend, EU leaders attended a Brussels summit and agreed the UK’s Brexit deal. After 20 months of negotiations, the 27 leaders approved an agreement on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. After less than one hour’s discussion, the leaders announced their decision, saying that it is the ‘best and only possible deal’. Theresa May later said that the UK would be better off outside the EU and that the deal delivers for the British people.
However, this does not mean that the situation has been resolved and it still looks as if the deal has little chance of getting through Parliament. The meaningful vote is expected to be held on 12 December and, if it is rejected, May would have 21 days to return to Parliament and set out how she intends to proceed. It is still possible that a general election could be called which would only add to the current spanners in the works for the current Prime Minister.
On Friday, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab spoke to the Today programme and said that staying in the European Union is better than Theresa May’s Brexit deal. He didn’t quite go as far as saying he would prefer to remain in the EU, but did say that if he was presented a choice between May’s deal or EU membership, then May’s Brexit deal would be worse. As it stands, the only way for the UK to get out of the backstop arrangement is if the EU agree to it. That does seem a bizarre way to go about business, but then Raab was the Brexit secretary and would appear to be responsible for the way negotiations went.
Oil prices slumped to their lowest mark this year, with Brent crude falling through the $60 a barrel mark for the first time since October 2017. That represents a 4.5% drop in one day and is thought to be because traders believe slower economic growth and ongoing trade wars will lead to a shrinking demand for energy. It is fair to say oil prices have been very volatile in recent times and this could continue for some time yet.
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