Pound rises against Dollar as Boris Johnson gives Tory conference speech

The Pound has risen against the Dollar after Boris Johnson gave a barnstorming speech at the Tory conference calling for no more delays to Brexit.

The Prime Minister addressed Conservatives in Manchester today and tore into Remainer MPs, describing Parliament as a ‘pebble in the shoe’ of the nation.

He again made clear that he will not beg Brussels for an extension – suggesting the EU must accept his new ‘compromise’ proposals or face No Deal. 

Despite his threats of a No Deal, which economists have claimed would be a disaster for the British economy, the Pound experienced a surge following Boris’s speech.

Currency data shows the Pound shot up against the US Dollar from 1.2254 at 12.41pm to 1.2296 at 12.53pm.

The surge is some comeback for the Pound, which fell to 1.1199 against the Euro yesterday when Boris announced his ‘final’ Brexit deal, but is now at 1.1240.

In his keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference Mr Johnson insisted his plan to replace the Irish backstop would ‘in no circumstances’ result in checks at or near the border in Northern Ireland. 

Addressing party conference for the first time as PM, Mr Johnson again made clear that he will not beg Brussels for an extension – saying they must choose between his new ‘compromise’ plan and No Deal

Mr Johnson said: ‘Today in Brussels we are tabling what I believe are constructive and reasonable proposals which provide a compromise for both sides.

‘We will under no circumstances have checks at or near the border in Northern Ireland. We will respect the peace process and the Good Friday agreement.

‘And by a process of renewable democratic consent by the executive and assembly of Northern Ireland we will go further and protect the existing regulatory arrangements for farmers and other businesses on both sides of the border.

‘And at the same time we will allow the UK – whole and entire – to withdraw from the EU, with control of our own trade policy from the start.’

Mr Johnson acknowledged the plan represented a ‘compromise by the UK’.

‘I hope very much that our friends understand that and compromise in their turn,’ he told the Manchester conference.

‘Because if we fail to get an agreement because of what is essentially a technical discussion of the exact nature of future customs checks, when that technology is improving the whole time, then let us be in no doubt that the alternative is no deal.

‘That is not an outcome we want. It is not an outcome we seek at all.

The surge is some comeback for the Pound, which fell to 1.1199 against the Euro yesterday when Boris announced his ‘final’ Brexit deal, but is now at 1.1240

Mr Johnson was embraced by girlfriend Carrie after giving his keynote speech in Manchester this afternoon

‘But … it is an outcome for which we are ready.’

British officials have made clear to EU counterparts that the legal texts being presented to the European Union are a final offer and unless Brussels is prepared to engage there will be no more talks until after Brexit.

The plan involves a ‘two borders for four years’ measure that will leave Northern Ireland in a relationship with Europe until 2025, according to The Daily Telegraph.

It accepts the need for both a regulatory border between Britain and Northern Ireland in the Irish Sea for four years and customs checks between the North and the Irish Republic.

Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney, speaking late on Tuesday night, said this was ‘no basis for an agreement’ and ‘concerning to say the least’.

Mr Johnson will speak to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan.

The commission said it will not ‘pre-empt any reaction’ before having a chance to study the proposals to replace the backstop.

Mr Johnson told the conference ‘we can, we must and we will’ get Brexit done.

Despite the ‘Surrender Bill’ – the legislation passed into law aimed at blocking the Prime Minister from taking the UK out of the EU without a deal unless he has the consent of MPs – Mr Johnson insisted he would meet the October 31 deadline ‘come what may’.