Good morning,

Today at 4pm GMT, nominations for the candidates of all political parties and independents must be selected in all of the UK’s constituencies with just under a month to go before election day.

Usually, this would be a fairly insignificant deadline in the electoral process, meaning more to would-be MP’s than anyone else. However, late last night on the eve of this deadline, the Conservative party finally buckled and offered the Brexit party an electoral deal that would see the Conservatives field 40 “paper candidates” in seats likely to be won by Mr Farage’s party.

In essence, this would mean that, although Conservative candidates would be technically running, they would receive no Conservative funding or assistance in campaigning for the seat in question. Sterling has held steady on this news as, if this deal is accepted, the Conservatives will ensure that the Brexit vote isn’t split and will have a clear run at securing a majority – something that the pound desperately needs to finally kill off the years of political uncertainty that has weighed it down.

With the ball now firmly back in Mr Farage’s court, today could prove to be a tense, as the markets look on to see who blinks first. Expect GBP’s movements to be largely dictated by headlines surrounding this; further polling data and retail sales figures that release at 9.30 – the latter could offer an uplift, as, even in uncertain times, the British love to shop for Christmas presents.

Have a great day,

Joshua Haden-Jones, Senior Private Relationship Manager