Theresa May urged MPs to back her Brexit deal, promising that it would allow the country to “turn a corner” and let the government focus on solving domestic problems such as housing and a skill shortage.
May made the appeal in a New Year’s message little more than two weeks before a make-or-break vote in parliament on her plan for Britain’s exit from the European Union which is due to happen on March 29.
The vote, which May postponed in December to avoid defeat, will be a pivotal moment for the world’s fifth-largest economy: it will determine whether Britain follows her plan for a managed exit and relatively close economic ties, or faces massive uncertainty about the country’s next step.
The vote on May’s Brexit deal with the EU is scheduled to take place in the week beginning Jan. 14.
May is still seeking reassurances from Brussels that a deeply unpopular fall-back arrangement within her proposed deal, over the Northern Irish border, would only be temporary.
It seeks to prevent the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland if a better solution to keep trade flowing freely cannot be agreed.
In economic news we had the UK Manufacturing data released showing it grew from 53.6 to 54.2 beating expectations of 52.5.
Later this week we also have the UK Construction and Services data which will be key to see how the economy is growing at the start of this year.