UK PM Theresa May downplays warnings on a no-deal Brexit
British Prime Minister Theresa May declared her support to an assessment that a no-deal Brexit “wouldn't be the end of the world," ignoring her finance minister’s warning of significant consequences from such an outcome.
Speaking to reporters during her trip to Africa, May claimed that crashing out of the European Union without a deal “wouldn’t be a walk in the park” but went on to argue that the UK could make an economic success of the unprecedented situation if it proved impossible to negotiate a satisfactory divorce.
Her comments were designed to distance herself from the warnings issued by her finance minister Phillip Hammond after he suggested last week that failure to reach an agreement with the EU would have substantial economic consequences.
Hammond has warned against a no deal Brexit, saying that Britain's GDP could fall and borrowing would increase by £80 billion a year by 2033-34 if Britain fell out on the terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Hammond, who is Chancellor of the Exchequer, said such a move would have "large fiscal consequences".
When asked whether she thought her chancellor was right in his assessment of the economic impact of a no-deal Brexit, May stated that the figures he quoted were out of date.
The British government has expressed a desire to explore trade relations with developing African countries to help boost the country's moral following a tense Brexit negotiation period.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is also set to begin her tour of three West African countries, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria, with efforts to boost economic ties amid negotiations with the UK.
This will likely pit the two European nations against each other as both look for vital trade deals to protect the now fragile Euro zone economy.
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