As was widely expected given the Tories massive majority in Parliament, Boris Johnson's Brexit withdrawal agreement has cleared the first procedural vote in Westminster, setting the stage for its eventual passage, which will lead the UK to exit the European Union on Jan. 31.
The pound didn't react much to the news. Instead, it continued to trade near its lows of the session. The British currency is on track to cement its worst weekly drop in two years, as traders fear Johnson's insistence that he won't extend the Brexit transition period beyond the end of next year.
The bill passed by a vote of 358 to 234, a majority of 124. It now goes on to further scrutiny in parliament. Of more concern to traders (as mentioned above), the bill also contains a provision that would prohibit any extensions of the Brexit transition period past the end of 2020.
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Johnson’s Conservative party had its biggest election win in 30 years, giving it a parliamentary majority which will break the Brexit impasse and will likely see a U.K. exit on January 31.
Despite the hope that Brexit is moving forward, there is still a lot to negotiate.
Leaders on both sides of the channel will have to rush through trade deals and establish their future relationship before December 31, 2020, when the transition period comes to an end.
But Brussels has already warned that the timeframe is not long enough, meaning just the bare bones of a deal could be agreed on. The alternative is Johnson would have to break a campaign promise and extend the transition period. Another scenario both sides want to avoid but could still happen is the U.K. crashing out of the bloc, which would bring economic turmoil.
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Boris Johnson has been warned his new points-based immigration system must be 'simple' as he vowed to bring EU freedom of movement to an end by 2021.
Mr Johnson today used the Queen's Speech to commit to bringing forward laws which will finally deliver on pledges he made during the 2016 Brexit referendum to allow Britain to take full control of its borders.
The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill will formally stop free movement and allow the government to replace existing border control measures with Australian-style arrangements.
It will mean that EU citizens who can currently come to the UK to live and work without having to pass any tests or meet any specific requirements will be subject to the same treatment as non-EU citizens.
This will enable the government to deliver a single global immigration system based on people's skills.
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