The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a first mood test: In a by-election to the lower house in the Welsh constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire threatens the ruling Tories today, according to polls, the loss of one of their seats in parliament.
Conservative MP Chris Davies had been forced to give up his mandate after being convicted on false accounts. In the by-election, he joins again for the Tories. But polls see the candidate of the pro-European Liberal Democrats as favorites.
If the Tories lose the by-election, the governing majority in the lower house would be reduced to a seat. This should make it even harder for Johnson to live up to his promise to complete Brexit by 31 October and, if necessary, without an agreement with the EU.
More money for preparation for no-deal brexit
Meanwhile, under the new Finance Minister Sajid Javid, Britain is providing more money for an unregulated Brexit. In addition, 2.1 billion pounds (2.3 billion euros) are now ready to prepare the country for this scenario.
Javid said that optimal preparation is crucial now. „If we do not get a good deal, we have to go without it.“ The funding for preparations this year would be doubled. In total, the Ministry of Finance has budgeted £ 4.2bn for the current fiscal year to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.
£ 434 million will be used to provide sufficient medicine, such as additional cargo capacity, stocks and supplies. One billion pounds will be made available to help prepare Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland better. One of the sticking points is likely to be the border between the EU country of Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland, where controls are threatening to slow down and increase the cost of goods transport.
