The British pound plunged even further this morning as Boris Johnson’s government begins its first daily crisis talks over a No Deal Brexit .
Sterling hit a new two-year low against the dollar this morning at $1.21.2 – immediately beating the low it reached last night.
In woe for millions of Brits setting off on a summer holiday, the pound also dropped below €1.09 – its worst since August 2017.
The pound has now lost 2.4% of its value since Boris Johnson took power last week. It has not been so low since March 2017, when Theresa May triggered Article 50 to begin Brexit.
It comes after Boris Johnson ramped up the odds of No Deal on October 31, with No10 saying he has no plans to meet EU leaders and won’t sit down for talks unless Brussels budges.
The Prime Minister will put on a brave face today as he visits Welsh farmers – ahead of Thursday’s Brecon by-election – and hails Brexit as a “historic opportunity” to re-shape agriculture.
But back in Westminster his No Deal chief Michael Gove will lead the first daily meeting to review crisis plans for a No Deal Brexit .
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Cabinet chiefs including hardline Brexiteers Dominic Raab and Priti Patel will join the Cabinet Office minister for the ‘XO’ summit – held in the government’s Cobra emergency briefing room.
Mr Gove said on Sunday the government is now “assuming” No Deal will happen.
But yesterday Mr Johnson – who said the odds of no deal were a “million to one” – threw the plan into further chaos by insisting he did not agree with his No Deal chief.
Nigel Green, founder of financial advice firm deVere Group, said: “Brexit has been a hammer-blow to the pound and this has been exacerbated by Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister.
“As such, demand for solutions to the weak pound is set to soar by UK travellers and British expats over the summer.
“While much of the impact of no-deal will have been priced-in, it’s clear that holidaymakers do need to seek alternative ways to reduce the hit to their pockets of a poor performing pound.”
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Boris Johnson is set to outline his strategy for helping Britain’s “great farmers” after the pound fell to a two-year low against the US dollar.
The Prime Minister will head to South Wales on Tuesday to discuss his plan for farming.
Mr Johnson has claimed farmers will be boosted by leaving the EU’s common agricultural policy and by the UK signing new trade deals.
The sharpening of the tone on no deal has drawn criticism from some of the Prime Minister’s Conservative colleagues.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson met Mr Johnson in Edinburgh on Monday and expressed her opposition to a no-deal Brexit.
And Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon – who also met him – declared Boris Johnson is secretly pursuing a “dangerous” no-deal Brexit.
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Former work and pensions minister Baroness Altmann has claimed a group of Tory peers are prepared to resign the whip if Mr Johnson’s Government pursues a no-deal Brexit.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s visit, Mr Johnson outlined his vision for the farming sector “selling ever more, not just here but around the world”.
Mr Johnson said: “I will always back Britain’s great farmers and as we leave the EU we need to make sure that Brexit works for them.
“That means scrapping the common agricultural policy and signing new trade deals – our amazing food and farming sector will be ready and waiting to continue selling ever more, not just here but around the world.
“Once we leave the EU on October 31, we will have a historic opportunity to introduce new schemes to support farming – and we will make sure that farmers get a better deal.
“Brexit presents enormous opportunities for our country and it’s time we looked to the future with pride and optimism.”
He will discuss the Government’s new approach to Brexit negotiations with Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford on the latest stop of his tour of the UK, which has included visits to Scotland, Birmingham and Manchester.
Baroness Altmann, the former director-general of insurance firm Saga, told the BBC’s Newsnight: “We have to do whatever we can.
“I will not stand for leaving without a deal or continuing to threaten this irresponsible nonsense about it being fine if we lose all our free trade at a stroke.
“I don’t want to bring down the Government, I’m hoping that the Government will recognise through the summer that this strategy is flawed, that this has no democratic mandate, and that if we want to make a success of our future then we cannot possibly contemplate throwing away 40 years of integration – putting all our small businesses at risk, losing free trade not just with Europe but all the countries we have free trade with.”
