BFF-47 British PM hopeful Hunt unveils no-deal Brexit plans

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British PM hopeful Hunt unveils no-deal Brexit plans

LONDON, July 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – British prime ministerial contender
Jeremy Hunt on Monday pledged billions of pounds to mitigate the effects of a
possible no-deal Brexit, but the country’s finance minister dismissed the
plans as unaffordable.

Hunt is vying with frontrunner Boris Johnson to win the support of
predominately pro-Brexit Conservative Party members, who will vote this month
for Theresa May’s replacement as prime minister.

Hunt, the foreign minister, who has previously said leaving the European
Union without a deal “would be a mistake we would regret for generations”,
made on Monday his strongest commitment to back such a move by unveiling a
10-point plan.

“No-deal is obviously not my preferred destination. But if a withdrawal
deal is simply not on the cards then the only way to fulfil the democratic
mandate of the referendum is to leave without a deal, which is what we will
do,” he said at the Policy Exchange think-tank event in London.

His plan would cancel all leave in government departments in preparation
for a no-deal exit from the EU, and slash corporate tax rates.

The government would also channel o6 billion ($7.6 billion, 6.7 billion
euros) to industries most threatened by a no-deal Brexit.

“We spent just over o1 trillion bailing out the banks after the financial
crisis, so if we did it for the bankers then why wouldn’t we do what is
needed for our fishermen and our farmers?”, he said.

Hunt plans to raid the o26 billion “headroom” built up by a decade of
budget tightening since the financial crisis.

– ‘Wing and a prayer’ –

“When you face an economic shock, it is just basic economics that you find
support for the industries that are affected,” Hunt said.

“It is temporary support, but it allows them to change their business
models.”

But finance minister Philip Hammond who oversaw much of those cuts
immediately dismissed the plan.

“The ‘fiscal firepower’ we have built up in case of a no-deal Brexit will
only be available for extra spending if we leave with an orderly transition,”
Hammond wrote on Twitter.

“If not, it will all be needed to plug the hole a no-deal Brexit will make
in the public finances.”

Hunt’s rival Johnson also said at the weekend that he would spend about o25
billion to fund his spending plans, including a promise to unfreeze public
sector pay increases.

Hunt believes the EU will reopen negotiations if there is a serious threat
of a no-deal, and said he would only ask for an extension to the current
October 31 deadline if a deal was about to be struck.

“As prime minister I will make a judgement on 30th September as to whether
there is a realistic chance of a new deal being agreed that can pass the
House of Commons,” he said.

“If my judgement is that there is no deal to be done I will immediately
cease all discussions with the European Union and focus the whole country’s
attention on no deal preparations.”

Hunt made a thinly-veiled jibe at Johnson over his more vague plans for
getting Britain out of the EU.

“Without the right prime minister and the right plan, Brexit is just a wing
and a prayer,” he said. “We can do better.”

BSS/AFP/ARS/2004 hrs