UK’s Johnson seeks to rule out Brexit trade pact delay

Buoyed by a big, new Conservative majority in Parliament, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson toughened his Brexit stance on Tuesday, ruling out any extension of an end-of-2020 deadline to strike a trade deal with the European Union, EU.

As lawmakers assembled for the first sitting of Parliament since Johnson’s election victory last week, Downing Street said the government would insert a clause into its Withdrawal Agreement Bill – which ratifies the country’s departure from the EU – to rule out extending Britain’s trade negotiations with the bloc beyond next year. That could mean Britain leaving without a deal on trade terms at the start of 2021, a prospect that alarms many UK businesses.

The pound plunged on the news, falling by 1.5 per cent to just over $1.31.

Johnson’s Conservatives won an 80-strong majority in Parliament in last week’s general election – the most decisive Tory victory since the 1980s – as voters in formerly Labour-backing areas rallied to Johnson’s promise to “get Brexit done.”