Budget 2018: No-deal Brexit risk sees Hammond hold back on spending

Deal would offer UK 'double deal dividend'

The looming risk of a no-deal Brexit has forced the UK to continue to restrict public spending and maintain a fiscal "buffer", Chancellor Philip Hammond said in his Budget 2018 speech, which he could unleash in the event a deal is reached.

In his Autumn budget speech, Hammond committed £500m for government department for Brexit preparations, in addition to the £1.5bn already allocated for 2019-20 and the £2.2bn already spent. Budget 2018: Borrowing forecast slashed as 'era of austerity finally coming to an end' It follows a clash in perspective over the weekend between the Chancellor and the Prime Minister over the impact of Brexit on UK fiscal policy. Hammond had said that an Emergency Budget would be required if the UK leaves the EU without a deal in March 2019, but Downing Street said all of the Budget's spending ...