The pound is diving ahead of parliament's crucial Brexit vote

Will Martin

January 15, 2019 8:27 PM

Theresa May

British pound tumbles against the dollar in the minutes before crucial UK parliament vote on Brexit deal.
Prime Minister May is widely expected to suffer a crushing, and possibly record-breaking, defeat in the House of Commons.
Uncertainty over what happens if May loses the vote has helped push the pound down more than 1% against the dollar.
Follow the pound's movements live at Markets Insider.
Business Insider has live coverage of the crucial vote, follow it here.

The British pound is diving Tuesday evening as British lawmakers prepare for a historic vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal.

May is widely expected to suffer a crushing, and possibly record-breaking, defeat in the House of Commons, adding even greater uncertainty to the UK political landscape, and increasing the likelihood of Britain staying in the EU, or a general election, or a no deal Brexit.

That uncertainty has pushed the pound significantly lower as of around 7.00 p.m. GMT (2.00 p.m. EST), with the currency trading down more than 1.2% against the dollar, hovering around the $1.27 mark, as the chart below illustrates: