Following the Failure of the Brexit Session in the British Parliament, the Value of the Pound Decreased Again

Following the inconclusive session of the British Parliament to review alternative proposals to Theresa May's plan regarding the exit from the European Union, the value of the British pound decreased slightly again. According to the Financial Times, on the morning of Thursday, April 8, the exchange rate of the pound against the dollar fell by about 0.4% compared to before the parliamentary session, with each pound trading at $1.31 in the stock market. The London stock market also saw an increase in the value of multinational companies' shares, with the overall stock index reaching over 7200 points. The pound's decline began immediately after the inconclusive parliamentary session. The British Parliament, which had previously rejected the Prime Minister's plans regarding the exit from the EU twice, voted on eight alternative proposals on Wednesday, but none of these proposals were able to secure the necessary votes for final approval. These eight proposals included various options such as a no-deal exit and a second referendum. An hour before the parliamentary session, it was reported that Theresa May promised in a private meeting to dissatisfied members of her Conservative Party that she would resign if her plan was approved; however, this promise also failed to resolve the crisis. Nevertheless, reports on Thursday indicate that Mrs. May is still trying to revive her plan. Reuters reported, citing a spokesperson for Theresa May, that the British Prime Minister is still holding meetings with her party members in Parliament to push her Brexit plan through. However, Boris Johnson, a Member of Parliament who led the campaign for Britain's exit from the EU, told the Evening Standard on Thursday morning that Mrs. May's plan has been rejected twice and is a 'dead plan.' According to Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which states that the exit of any member of the union occurs two years after the official request is received, Britain's exit was supposed to take place tomorrow (Friday, April 9, 2019). However, EU leaders agreed in their meeting last week to Theresa May's proposal to postpone this deadline, setting two new deadlines of May 22 or April 12. Reuters reported on Thursday, citing the European Commission, that if a plan is not approved in the British Parliament within the next few days, the final Brexit deadline will be set for April 12. The new developments in Britain come just days after hundreds of thousands of opponents of Britain's separation from the EU marched in London last Saturday, calling for another referendum on the matter. In the referendum held in July 2016, in which more than 17 million British citizens participated, 51.9% voted for leaving the EU and 48.1% voted to remain in the union. However, Theresa May's plan for how to implement Brexit has failed twice in Parliament, complicating the political deadlock on this issue.