<strong>By: Schroders</strong>

<h2><strong><span lang="EN-ZA">Schroders' economics experts share their views as Boris Johnson is installed as favourite to become the UK’s next Prime Minister</span></strong><u></u></h2>

<strong><span lang="EN-ZA">Azad Zangana, Senior European Economist and Strategist at Schroders:</span></strong><u></u><u></u>

<span lang="EN-ZA">Theresa May has now announced her resignation, stepping down on 7 June. This will trigger a Conservative Party leadership contest, the winner of which would also become PM.<u></u><u></u></span>

<span lang="EN-ZA">May’s resignation follows the end of Brexit talks with the opposition Labour Party, which officially concluded without agreement.<u></u><u></u></span>

<span lang="EN-ZA">At this stage, bookmakers have the former Foreign Secretary and Mayor of London Boris Johnson as favourite. The hard-line Brexiteer may look to take the UK out of the European Union (EU) without a deal, despite Parliament voting in favour of essentially removing the option. He could do this by failing to comply with the EU's demands that the UK should continue to follow the rules. This presumably would lead to the EU agreeing to terminate the relationship in October.<u></u><u></u></span>

<span lang="EN-ZA">If this were to happen, we would anticipate the economy to slow and fall into recession around the turn of the year. While the Bank of England would probably cut interest rates eventually, the expected depreciation in the pound would cause inflation to spike. The household sector has already run down its safety buffer in the form of its savings rate, therefore a contraction in demand is very likely.<u></u><u></u></span>

<strong><span lang="EN-ZA">Janet Mui, Global Economist, Schroders Wealth Management:</span></strong><u></u><u></u>

<span lang="EN-ZA">The mixture of the unwillingness of the EU to re-negotiate, Parliament's lack of appetite for a hard-Brexit and a potentially toughened stance on Brexit by the new PM points towards further political turmoil. It is hard to see how a compromise across various stakeholders can be resolved before 31 October. Ultimately, a political process such as a snap election or a second referendum may need to take place to find a way forward.<u></u><u></u></span>

<span lang="EN-ZA">As a result of the additional Brexit uncertainty, we expect UK economic activity to face further headwinds. The recent intensification of political turmoil has caused a sell-off in sterling to a four month low versus the dollar.<u></u><u></u></span>

<span lang="EN-ZA">At the time of writing, sterling has not reacted meaningfully after Theresa May’s resignation, hence it is a reflection that the news has been priced in. Going forward, sterling is likely to remain volatile and subject to downside risks in reaction to Brexit headlines.</span>