Philip Hammond sparks uproar from Brexiteers in rant over the consequences of a No Deal Brexit
THE CHANCELLOR sparked fresh uproar from Brexiteers over No Deal yesterday by saying he hadn’t come into politics to “make the economy smaller”.
Speaking in the Commons, Philip Hammond said there would “clearly” be short-term disruption from a cliff edge exit.
But he added: “More importantly, all the analysis that the Government has done and published … shows that there will be a longer term effect, which means that our economy will be smaller than it otherwise would have been.
“And I didn’t come into politics in order to make our economy smaller, I came into politics to make our economy bigger and make our people better off.”
The blast came after explosive comments on Monday night where he said no preparation “in the world” would enable Britain to cope with a No Deal.
And he claimed those Tories pushing for such an outcome were “hijacking” the result of the referendum. The comments were due to be made at a speech to the CBI Annual Dinner last night.
One furious senior Tory last night stormed: “The Government need to be honest with the public.
The Sun Says
WHAT did we do to deserve a Chancellor as dismally defeatist as Philip Hammond?
The bean counter who helped wreck our negotiating hand by holding back No Deal preparations now says, in effect, there is little point to them anyway.
We can NEVER be ready, he moans.
Put aside that voters quite logically expect us to leave with No Deal if no deal can be struck. Imagine this soul-destroying doom-monger presiding over an actual national disaster — war, even — endlessly lecturing us not on what we can do but what we can’t.
Of Mrs May’s many mistakes, her Cabinet choices have been the worst . . . Hammond most grievous of all.
“They said ‘Brexit means Brexit’ and spent £4 billion of taxpayers’ money on preparations. Now they turn round and make statements like this?”
Another said: “So much for collective Cabinet responsibility.
“This is supposed to be our focus and he goes and talks about ‘hijacking’?”
Irish quit fear
By Nick Gutteridge in Brussels
DUBLIN urged firms to step up No Deal preparations yesterday - amid warnings a cliff edge exit will plunge the Republic into a recession.
The Paris-based OECD said a No Deal posed a huge threat to the Irish economy.
“Uncertainties to the outlook are significant,” it said.
“The most immediate one is a disorderly conclusion of Brexit negotiations, which could plunge the Irish economy into a recession.”
PM Leo Varadkar warned companies they must do more to brace for the chaos of a crash out on October 31.
Speaking in the Irish parliament, he said said too many firms were gambling that “it’ll be alright on the night” if a deal can’t be reached.
He added: “And it may well be alright on the night but we cannot assume that.”
Mr Varadkar is due to hold his first ever meeting with Jeremy Corbyn within the next 10 days following the collapse of the cross-party talks.
Deputy PM Simon Coveney warned that the risk of a No Deal had never been greater.
In a memo presented to ministers he blasted the UK for failing to come up with any solution to the current impasse.
He added that in response all staff working on No Deal preparations are being made to stay on in their current roles over the summer.
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