Pound steadies following May’s crucial commons win after sharp fall against euro and dollar as MPs rejected Cooper bid to delay Brexit
- Pound was down about 0.5 per cent against the dollar and the euro last night
- Sterling dipped as Yvette Cooper plan to delay Brexit to avoid no deal defeated
- The currency is still stronger than a week ago and higher than on January 1
- Sterling has been moving back upwards across the boards since midnight.
The pound recovered overnight after slumping sharply as MPs rejected Yvette Cooper’s bid to delay Brexit and prevent a no-deal departure from the EU.
Defeat for Cooper’s plan to delay Brexit if there is no deal in place by February 26 saw sterling plunge by about 0.5 per cent.
The decline in sterling’s value saw the pound fall to a five-day low against the U.S. dollar and a six-day low against the euro.
The currency suffered a further drop after Graham Brady’s amendment to back changes to the withdrawal deal was passed.
At 9.20pm, the pound was worth 1.14 against the euro and 1.30 against the dollar – but sterling has been moving back upwards since midnight.
At around 8pm last night the pound fell against the dollar (pictured) sharply as MPs rejected moved to rule out no deal
At 7am today the pound was recovering and on a largely upward trajectory as the markets rallied
It is still stronger than it was a week ago and higher than either the turn of the year or the immediate aftermath of the PM’s Brexit deal being crushed on January 15.
Ms Cooper’s amendment was comfortably defeated by 23 votes, 321 to 298, as the Commons backed the Prime Minister’s plan to renegotiate the backstop.
MPs then backed an amendment from Tory Sir Graham Brady, supported by Mrs May, calling for legally-binding changes to the deal.
Proposals from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, SNP leader Ian Blackford, Tory Dominic Grieve and Labour MP Rachel Reeves have also been defeated.
The humiliation for Remainers came after Mrs May urged wavering Tories to hold off rebelling, promising it would not be their ‘last chance’ to avoid no deal.
At 9.20pm, the pound was worth 1.14 against the euro (pictured) and 1.31 against the dollar
At 7am this morning the pound was in the green against the euro since midnight
Theresa May (pictured in the Commons today) told MPs the Withdrawal Agreement will be reopened as the Commons backed her bid to renegotiate the Irish backstop
‘I will never stop battling for Britain, but the odds of success become much longer if this House ties one hand behind my back,’ she said.
In her final message before the Commons showdown began, the PM admitted she must attempt to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement, and appealed for MPs to vote for an amendment that would give her a ‘mandate’ to demand the Irish border backstop is replaced.
Mrs May has also vowed to look ‘seriously’ at a Plan C hammered out by pro-EU and Eurosceptic Tories – which would involve demanding a much looser backstop, and if that could not be agreed asking for a longer transition period to seal other trade arrangements.
Brexiteers believe approving the Brady plan could be a first step towards securing their vision.