UK Chancellor Hammond Warns Again About No-Deal Brexit

In a new warning about the U.K. leaving the European Union without a deal, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said people will be worse off if that happens.

According to a report in Bloomberg, Hammond said Parliament’s move to reject Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal created uncertainty and that if there’s a no-plan exit it will create a big disruption to the U.K. economy. The news outlet noted he asked politicians not to support a no-deal Brexit in a vote Wednesday (March 13).

“Last night’s vote leaves a cloud of uncertainty hanging over our economy,” Hammond told Parliament, according to the report. “The idea that some readily available fix to avoid the consequences of a no-deal Brexit is just wrong.”

During the chancellor’s spring statement he cut the growth forecast for the year to 1.2 percent from 1.6 percent. It marks the weakest growth projection since the financial crisis. If the U.K. were to leave the EU with a deal there was an improved forecast for public finances. Those forecasts would be upended if there isn’t an orderly exit, noted the report.

The potential for a disorderly exit has been heightened following Prime Minister May’s inability to get enough backing this week for a bill spelling out the economic and judicial terms that would enable an orderly exit from the European Union. The separation was slated for March 29 with the deal in hand.

After the defeat May said she would let lawmakers vote to go with a no-deal separation on March 29. Lawmakers are voting on that, which prompted the chancellor to appeal to the British Parliament.

The U.K.’s split from the EU has been controversial from the start., mired by arguments and battles that have split the country. Many have predicted an exit without a plan would be damaging to the U.K. economy. The financial industry has been taking steps for months now to prepare for the exit.