Sterling was in a weaker position yesterday as comments from Chancellor Sajid Javid fuelled fears about weak ties between the UK and the EU. In an interview with the Financial Times over the weekend, Javid said that there would be no alignment with EU regulations once Britain’s exit from the European Union was made official.
After the comments, businesses warned that food prices may rise and jobs may be affected as a result of ending our alignment with EU rules. Javid declined to specify which EU rules the government would drop, but said some businesses would benefit from Brexit, while others would not.
The government has lost three votes in the House of Lords, the first votes it’s lost since the election. Peers supported calls for EU nationals to be given a physical document as proof they have the right to live in the UK after it leaves the bloc. This would give them an automatic right to stay, rather than having to apply to the Home Office. They also voted to remove ministers’ power to decide which EU Court of Justice rulings can be disregarded or set aside by UK courts and tribunals. Ministers will aim to reverse the moves when the bill returns to the House of Commons.
Today, unemployment rate and wage growth figures will be released. Unemployment rate is expected to be unchanged at 3.8%, whilst average earnings for November are expected to have dropped slightly from 3.2% to 3.1%.
