Boris Johnson said he would bring his divided nation back together when Britain leaves the European Union, telling Britons they were set for a “fantastic year and a remarkable decade”.
Fresh from winning a large parliamentary majority in an election, Johnson said in a New Year’s message that his first job was to ensure Brexit was delivered, more than three years after Britain voted to leave the EU, and then to heal the wounds the vote had opened.
“As we say goodbye to 2019, we can also turn the page on the division, rancour and uncertainty which has dominated public life and held us back for far too long,” he said.
“Now we have a new parliament, elected by the people to deliver the people’s priorities, which will finally respect the referendum and deliver Brexit. So, we’ll get Brexit done before the end of this month,” he added.
Johnson has already won initial approval for his EU divorce deal and the final stages of ratification will begin when lawmakers return.
With likely limited political news ahead of the UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January to drive the GBP, focus will likely shift to the Bank of England and whether or not it will cut at its meeting later this month.
In that sense, the upcoming data releases, not least the monthly GDP estimate for November due out on Friday next week, are key to follow.
As we expect the Bank of England to cut, given we expect data to come out weaker than the Bank of England does, we could see the pound drop off against the Euro as a result of this.
Keir Starmer, Brexit spokesman for Britain’s opposition Labour Party, has emerged as the early front runner in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader, according to a poll of members.