Sterling hit a two-year low on Monday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said it now assumed there would be a <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/no-deal-brexit-had-become-a-serious-possibility-cbi-chief-carolyn-fairbairn-239206&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi9xcXFitrjAhVO7mEKHQlcAkYQFjABegQIDxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw07JQut3Vw9Gy2-8QTnDxFn">no-deal Brexit</a> because a "stubborn" European Union was refusing to renegotiate their divorce.

Many investors say a no-deal Brexit would send shock waves through the world economy, tip Britain's economy into a recession, roil financial markets and weaken London's position as the pre-eminent international financial centre.

The pound, which was trading at $1.50 on the day of the 2016 referendum, dropped 0.4% to $1.2325, the lowest level since March 2017.

Johnson bets that the threat of a no-deal Brexit will persuade the EU's biggest powers - Germany and France - to agree to revise the divorce deal that Theresa May agreed to last November but failed three times to push through the British parliament.

The 27 other EU members, though, say publicly and privately that the divorce settlement - including the Irish border backstop - is not up for barter. Many EU diplomats say an election is highly likely.

"There must be some change from the EU and if the EU is not willing to move at all we must be ready to give the country some finality," <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-should-respect-international-laws-britains-foreign-minister-239218">Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab</a> said, adding that London was "turbo-charging" no-deal preparations.

Raab said the United Kingdom wanted a deal but repeatedly cast the bloc as "stubborn". Asked if he was threatening the EU - whose $15.9 trillion economy is nearly six times that of the United Kingdom's - Raab said: "I am not doing any threatening."

Hedge funds increased their net short sterling positions to the highest level in nearly a year. And in a sign investors are scrambling for protection against currency swings around the time of the October 31 exit, three-month implied volatility surged to a four-month high.

Johnson has told EU leaders he will sit down for Brexit talks when they indicate they are ready to shift on the divorce deal, otherwise Britain will prepare for leaving without a deal, his spokeswoman said on Monday.

Our&nbsp;Union

Differences over Brexit have strained the bonds that tie the United Kingdom. While the country voted 52-48 to leave in 2016, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU while Wales and England vote to leave.

The question of the unification of Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland will inevitably arise if Britain leaves the European Union without a divorce deal on October 31, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said.

Varadkar also suggested that a so-called hard Brexit could undermine Scotland's place in the United Kingdom.

Johnson makes his first visit to Scotland as prime minister on Monday, as his Conservative Party's leader there said she would refuse to support a no-deal Brexit.

"Our Union is the most successful political and economic union in history. We are a global brand and together we are safer, stronger and more prosperous," Johnson said in a statement ahead of the visit.

"So as we prepare for our bright future after Brexit, it's vital we renew the ties that bind our United Kingdom."

Johnson's promise to deliver Brexit, with or without a deal, has put him at odds with some in his party who oppose a "no-deal" exit - including its Scottish leader Ruth Davidson.

Gordon Brown, a Scot and a former prime minister, said this month that Johnson could be the United Kingdom's last prime minister as he could be on a collision course with Scottish nationalists.

Last week, Scotland's nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon wrote to Johnson telling him his Brexit plans would hurt the Scottish economy and that she would continue preparations for a second independence referendum.

Sterling hit a two-year low on Monday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said it now assumed there would be a no-deal Brexit because a "stubborn" European Union was refusing to renegotiate their divorce.

Sterling hit a two-year low on Monday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said it now assumed there would be a no-deal Brexit because a "stubborn" European Union was refusing to renegotiate their divorce. Many investors say a no-deal Brexit would send shock waves through the world economy, tip Britain's economy into a recession, roil financial markets and weaken London's position as the pre-eminent international financial centre. The pound, which was trading at $1.50 on the day of the 2016 referendum, dropped 0.4% to $1.2325, the lowest level since March 2017. Johnson bets that the threat of a no-deal Brexit will persuade the EU's biggest powers - Germany and France - to agree to revise the divorce deal that Theresa May agreed to last November but failed three times to push through the British parliament. The 27 other EU members, though, say publicly and privately that the divorce settlement - including the Irish border backstop - is not up for barter. Many EU diplomats say an election is highly likely. "There must be some change from the EU and if the EU is not willing to move at all we must be ready to give the country some finality," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, adding that London was "turbo-charging" no-deal preparations. Raab said the United Kingdom wanted a deal but repeatedly cast the bloc as "stubborn". Asked if he was threatening the EU - whose $15.9 trillion economy is nearly six times that of the United Kingdom's - Raab said: "I am not doing any threatening." Hedge funds increased their net short sterling positions to the highest level in nearly a year. And in a sign investors are scrambling for protection against currency swings around the time of the October 31 exit, three-month implied volatility surged to a four-month high. Johnson has told EU leaders he will sit down for Brexit talks when they indicate they are ready to shift on the divorce deal, otherwise Britain will prepare for leaving without a deal, his spokeswoman said on Monday. Our Union Differences over Brexit have strained the bonds that tie the United Kingdom. While the country voted 52-48 to leave in 2016, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU while Wales and England vote to leave. The question of the unification of Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland will inevitably arise if Britain leaves the European Union without a divorce deal on October 31, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said. Varadkar also suggested that a so-called hard Brexit could undermine Scotland's place in the United Kingdom. Johnson makes his first visit to Scotland as prime minister on Monday, as his Conservative Party's leader there said she would refuse to support a no-deal Brexit. "Our Union is the most successful political and economic union in history. We are a global brand and together we are safer, stronger and more prosperous," Johnson said in a statement ahead of the visit. "So as we prepare for our bright future after Brexit, it's vital we renew the ties that bind our United Kingdom." Johnson's promise to deliver Brexit, with or without a deal, has put him at odds with some in his party who oppose a "no-deal" exit - including its Scottish leader Ruth Davidson. Gordon Brown, a Scot and a former prime minister, said this month that Johnson could be the United Kingdom's last prime minister as he could be on a collision course with Scottish nationalists. Last week, Scotland's nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon wrote to Johnson telling him his Brexit plans would hurt the Scottish economy and that she would continue preparations for a second independence referendum.

UK plays hardball with 'stubborn' European Union, pound tumbles to a 28-month low on Brexit woes

On the Andrew Marr show on 11 June, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne described the Prime Minister, Theresa May as a &lsquo;dead woman walking&rsquo;. Osborne had his own reasons for glee at May&rsquo;s terrible miscalculation in calling a snap election on 8 June, having been previously sacked from the Cabinet, as May cosied up to the party&rsquo;s Eurosceptics for a &lsquo;hard Brexit&rsquo;. The latter would mean a departure from both the Single Market and the Customs Union &ndash; a move that, May sensed, required a greater parliamentary majority and legitimacy for herself and her party. It was the logical outcome of the Conservative Party&rsquo;s shift to the right, the supposedly acceptable response to the resurgence of xenophobic populism in the UK.

&nbsp;

But Osborne&rsquo;s necrotic comments were not hyperbole. Predictions at the start of the election campaign were that May might increase her majority in Parliament from 17 to upwards of 100. On Friday 9 June morning, against all expectations and most pollsters, Jeremy Corbyn, the allegedly &lsquo;unelectable&rsquo; leftist, had added 30 new seats for Labour. Better than any leader since Clement Atlee, he had increased the party&rsquo;s share of the popular vote to over 40 per cent. The Conservatives lost a total of 13 seats, missing an overall majority in the House of Commons by 8 seats. Far from achieving a &lsquo;strong and stable&rsquo; basis for Brexit, May had unwittingly set up one of the most spectacular and important electoral upsets in modern British history.

&nbsp;

Theresa May&rsquo;s robotic mantra of the need for &lsquo;strong and stable&rsquo; government summarises, in almost comic fashion, the many ways in which this election turned the UK on its head. Because if there is one expression you could never use for a &lsquo;hung parliament&rsquo; where no party holds a majority, it is &lsquo;stability&rsquo;. But there were other ironies which showed how the results had global implications. Throughout the election campaign which was accompanied by two serious terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, the parties of the right made a play of Corbyn&rsquo;s historical conversations with members of the IRA. Yet two days after the election, May was building an alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland, whose 10 seats would allow her to govern. The DUP had strong links to Protestant paramilitary forces, principally the Ulster Volunteer Force, from the mid-1980s. And in forging a relationship with the DUP, May threatened to undo British government neutrality in Northern Ireland, which was key to peace via the Good Friday agreement. Overnight, Corbyn&rsquo;s insistence that radical extremism needed to be tackled not with the suppression of rights, but by understanding its root international causes in UK colonial/postcolonial intervention, seemed to make perfect sense. And his logic was supported further by the publicised connections between MI6 and the Libyan bomber in Manchester, and by the UK&rsquo;s continued arms deals with Saudi Arabia.

&nbsp;

At least the DUP, reflecting Northern Ireland&rsquo;s overwhelming support in the EU referendum for Remain, was likely to argue May should follow a softer Brexit line. In other ways then, and against all claims of &lsquo;stability&rsquo;, the government&rsquo;s Brexit negotiations are thrown into disarray and further uncertainty. It is clear that the majority in the House of Commons would no longer back the &lsquo;hard&rsquo; Brexit that May had nurtured on the back of post-imperial sentiments and a nod to popular xenophobia. The entire Brexit strategy has been premised so far on her penchant for being a &lsquo;difficult woman&rsquo; in Brussels negotiations. But the only element of the election that allows May to hang on to power at all, are the newly won Conservative seats in Scotland. Furthermore, Ruth Davidson, the Conservative leader in Scotland, is strongly in favour of a &lsquo;soft&rsquo; Brexit, remaining if possible in the Single Market.

&nbsp;

Negotiators on the EU side will now look at the UK with uncertainty. May seems illegitimate both in the UK, and in the context of changing international relations. There are suggestions that not only could the negotiations themselves be delayed, but that the 27 EU states might even entertain a total reconsideration of Brexit itself, should the UK government choose to revoke the signing of article 50 and stay in the Union. The 2016 referendum, after all, was legally only &lsquo;advisory&rsquo;. And there is no doubt that the surge of dissatisfaction with Theresa May&rsquo;s Conservatives on 8 June was driven, in part, by the &lsquo;48%&rsquo; &ndash; the relatively well educated, demographically younger, and more left-wing supporters of Remain.

&nbsp;

The constituency that feels most cheated are the 18 to 25-years-olds &ndash; the population of the UK that is perhaps most clearly connected to promises of overseas work, whose horizons are increasingly global, being connected to the like-minded like never before via social media and travel. Although denigrated by the right-wing tabloids as a man who would take Britain &lsquo;back to the 1970s&rsquo; via old-fashioned socialism, Jeremy Corbyn managed to harness this constituency in a way that made a remarkable difference to the outcome of the election. It has also had a knock-on effect elsewhere in the world. Donald Trump, whose diminutive hand held that of Theresa May&#39;s, has now postponed his planned visit to the UK for fear of protests led by the very same constituencies that came out to vote for Corbyn. The &lsquo;special relationship&rsquo; too then, between the USA and UK, like Anglophone influence in the EU, has never seemed more uncertain.

&nbsp;

Perhaps the 2017 General Election in the UK shows something broader. Political scientists and commentators have looked at the rise of authoritarian populism in the USA, UK, India, Russia and Turkey as part of a possible global shift towards anti-cosmopolitanism, in the face of global economic crisis. The UK election of June 2017, alongside the Presidential elections in France of this year, suggest that important parts of Europe, at least, are bucking this trend. Most importantly, they show that a younger generation of voters and leaders are emerging to contest this global shift to the right, and to lay the possible foundations for a new kind of politics.

Jeremy Corbyn's success came from successfully appealing to the young adults of Britain who suffered most from Brexit

On the Andrew Marr show on 11 June, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne described the Prime Minister, Theresa May as a ‘dead woman walking’. Osborne had his own reasons for glee at May’s terrible miscalculation in calling a snap election on 8 June, having been previously sacked from the Cabinet, as May cosied up to the party’s Eurosceptics for a ‘hard Brexit’. The latter would mean a departure from both the Single Market and the Customs Union – a move that, May sensed, required a greater parliamentary majority and legitimacy for herself and her party. It was the logical outcome of the Conservative Party’s shift to the right, the supposedly acceptable response to the resurgence of xenophobic populism in the UK. But Osborne’s necrotic comments were not hyperbole. Predictions at the start of the election campaign were that May might increase her majority in Parliament from 17 to upwards of 100. On Friday 9 June morning, against all expectations and most pollsters, Jeremy Corbyn, the allegedly ‘unelectable’ leftist, had added 30 new seats for Labour. Better than any leader since Clement Atlee, he had increased the party’s share of the popular vote to over 40 per cent. The Conservatives lost a total of 13 seats, missing an overall majority in the House of Commons by 8 seats. Far from achieving a ‘strong and stable’ basis for Brexit, May had unwittingly set up one of the most spectacular and important electoral upsets in modern British history. Theresa May’s robotic mantra of the need for ‘strong and stable’ government summarises, in almost comic fashion, the many ways in which this election turned the UK on its head. Because if there is one expression you could never use for a ‘hung parliament’ where no party holds a majority, it is ‘stability’. But there were other ironies which showed how the results had global implications. Throughout the election campaign which was accompanied by two serious terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, the parties of the right made a play of Corbyn’s historical conversations with members of the IRA. Yet two days after the election, May was building an alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland, whose 10 seats would allow her to govern. The DUP had strong links to Protestant paramilitary forces, principally the Ulster Volunteer Force, from the mid-1980s. And in forging a relationship with the DUP, May threatened to undo British government neutrality in Northern Ireland, which was key to peace via the Good Friday agreement. Overnight, Corbyn’s insistence that radical extremism needed to be tackled not with the suppression of rights, but by understanding its root international causes in UK colonial/postcolonial intervention, seemed to make perfect sense. And his logic was supported further by the publicised connections between MI6 and the Libyan bomber in Manchester, and by the UK’s continued arms deals with Saudi Arabia. At least the DUP, reflecting Northern Ireland’s overwhelming support in the EU referendum for Remain, was likely to argue May should follow a softer Brexit line. In other ways then, and against all claims of ‘stability’, the government’s Brexit negotiations are thrown into disarray and further uncertainty. It is clear that the majority in the House of Commons would no longer back the ‘hard’ Brexit that May had nurtured on the back of post-imperial sentiments and a nod to popular xenophobia. The entire Brexit strategy has been premised so far on her penchant for being a ‘difficult woman’ in Brussels negotiations. But the only element of the election that allows May to hang on to power at all, are the newly won Conservative seats in Scotland. Furthermore, Ruth Davidson, the Conservative leader in Scotland, is strongly in favour of a ‘soft’ Brexit, remaining if possible in the Single Market. Negotiators on the EU side will now look at the UK with uncertainty. May seems illegitimate both in the UK, and in the context of changing international relations. There are suggestions that not only could the negotiations themselves be delayed, but that the 27 EU states might even entertain a total reconsideration of Brexit itself, should the UK government choose to revoke the signing of article 50 and stay in the Union. The 2016 referendum, after all, was legally only ‘advisory’. And there is no doubt that the surge of dissatisfaction with Theresa May’s Conservatives on 8 June was driven, in part, by the ‘48%’ – the relatively well educated, demographically younger, and more left-wing supporters of Remain. The constituency that feels most cheated are the 18 to 25-years-olds – the population of the UK that is perhaps most clearly connected to promises of overseas work, whose horizons are increasingly global, being connected to the like-minded like never before via social media and travel. Although denigrated by the right-wing tabloids as a man who would take Britain ‘back to the 1970s’ via old-fashioned socialism, Jeremy Corbyn managed to harness this constituency in a way that made a remarkable difference to the outcome of the election. It has also had a knock-on effect elsewhere in the world. Donald Trump, whose diminutive hand held that of Theresa May's, has now postponed his planned visit to the UK for fear of protests led by the very same constituencies that came out to vote for Corbyn. The ‘special relationship’ too then, between the USA and UK, like Anglophone influence in the EU, has never seemed more uncertain. Perhaps the 2017 General Election in the UK shows something broader. Political scientists and commentators have looked at the rise of authoritarian populism in the USA, UK, India, Russia and Turkey as part of a possible global shift towards anti-cosmopolitanism, in the face of global economic crisis. The UK election of June 2017, alongside the Presidential elections in France of this year, suggest that important parts of Europe, at least, are bucking this trend. Most importantly, they show that a younger generation of voters and leaders are emerging to contest this global shift to the right, and to lay the possible foundations for a new kind of politics.

Revolution of the young: The 2017 Election in the UK

Scotland&#39;s opposition leader insisted Saturday there should be no second referendum on Scottish independence, urging the governing nationalists to concentrate on making the best of Brexit rather than exploiting it for another secession push.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson told the party&#39;s conference in Glasgow that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party (SNP) was trying to bounce the country into a new referendum.

Scotland voted to stay in the United Kingdom by 55 per cent in the 2014 vote.

It also voted by 62 per cent for the UK to remain in the European Union last year, while the UK-wide vote was to leave, which Sturgeon seized upon.

She has said Brexit makes a second independence referendum &quot;highly likely.&quot;&nbsp;

Many in her left-wing secessionist party hope she will announce a fresh bid at the SNP conference on March 17-18, with Britain set to trigger two years of divorce talks with the EU by the end of the month.

Davidson, leader of the second-biggest party in the semi-autonomous Scottish Parliament, reaffirmed her opposition to independence.

&quot;Scotland said no to independence. Scotland is saying: stop trying to bounce us into another referendum,&quot; she told her centre-right party.

&quot;The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party will never waver in our determination to stand up for the decision we made as a country. We will fight you every step of the way.

&quot;We said &#39;no,&#39; we meant it. Are you listening, Nicola? No second referendum.

&quot;We deserve a Scottish government that is focused on helping Team UK get the best Brexit deal for all of us, not using it to revive its independence obsession.&quot;

Nationalists protest outside&nbsp;

Outside the conference, around 200 nationalists gathered to protest, chanting &quot;Tory scum&quot; and waving banners calling for another referendum.

Susan McGilvray, 41, an SNP member from East Ayrshire on Scotland&#39;s west coast, told AFP: &quot;I would love to see the call for a second referendum.&quot;

While polls have shifted slightly, support for independence remains in a minority.

McGilvray said: &quot;We might lose it, but no-one ever got anywhere by saying &#39;what if&#39;?&quot;

The Scottish Parliament does not have the authority to hold a second independence referendum. It must seek the permission of the staunchly unionist British Prime Minister Theresa May.

John Menzies, 48, an SNP councillor from Hamilton near Glasgow, was among several dozen motorcyclists who gathered under the banner &quot;Bikers for Yes.&quot;

May, Britain&#39;s Conservative leader, would be &quot;very silly&quot; if she blocked a fresh referendum, he argued.

&quot;That would irk even more of the Scottish people, who then go on and vote for independence,&quot; he said.

On Friday, May told the conference in Glasgow that the SNP&#39;s &quot;obsession&quot; with independence and &quot;tunnel vision nationalism&quot; had caused it to neglect running Scotland&#39;s public services properly.

(AFP)

Ruth Davidson urged governing nationalists to concentrate on making the best of Brexit rather than exploiting it for another secession push

Scotland's opposition leader insisted Saturday there should be no second referendum on Scottish independence, urging the governing nationalists to concentrate on making the best of Brexit rather than exploiting it for another secession push. Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson told the party's conference in Glasgow that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party (SNP) was trying to bounce the country into a new referendum. Scotland voted to stay in the United Kingdom by 55 per cent in the 2014 vote. It also voted by 62 per cent for the UK to remain in the European Union last year, while the UK-wide vote was to leave, which Sturgeon seized upon. She has said Brexit makes a second independence referendum "highly likely." Many in her left-wing secessionist party hope she will announce a fresh bid at the SNP conference on March 17-18, with Britain set to trigger two years of divorce talks with the EU by the end of the month. Davidson, leader of the second-biggest party in the semi-autonomous Scottish Parliament, reaffirmed her opposition to independence. "Scotland said no to independence. Scotland is saying: stop trying to bounce us into another referendum," she told her centre-right party. "The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party will never waver in our determination to stand up for the decision we made as a country. We will fight you every step of the way. "We said 'no,' we meant it. Are you listening, Nicola? No second referendum. "We deserve a Scottish government that is focused on helping Team UK get the best Brexit deal for all of us, not using it to revive its independence obsession." Nationalists protest outside Outside the conference, around 200 nationalists gathered to protest, chanting "Tory scum" and waving banners calling for another referendum. Susan McGilvray, 41, an SNP member from East Ayrshire on Scotland's west coast, told AFP: "I would love to see the call for a second referendum." While polls have shifted slightly, support for independence remains in a minority. McGilvray said: "We might lose it, but no-one ever got anywhere by saying 'what if'?" The Scottish Parliament does not have the authority to hold a second independence referendum. It must seek the permission of the staunchly unionist British Prime Minister Theresa May. John Menzies, 48, an SNP councillor from Hamilton near Glasgow, was among several dozen motorcyclists who gathered under the banner "Bikers for Yes." May, Britain's Conservative leader, would be "very silly" if she blocked a fresh referendum, he argued. "That would irk even more of the Scottish people, who then go on and vote for independence," he said. On Friday, May told the conference in Glasgow that the SNP's "obsession" with independence and "tunnel vision nationalism" had caused it to neglect running Scotland's public services properly. (AFP)

Scotland's opposition takes dim view of second independence referendum

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UK plays hardball with 'stubborn' European Union, pound tumbles to a 28-month low on Brexit woes

Revolution of the young: The 2017 Election in the UK

Scotland's opposition takes dim view of second independence referendum