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Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire

Remember credit ratings? Britain's has just taken a beating

The Brexit train keeps on rolling.

THE FALLOUT FROM Britain’s referendum to leave the EU last Thursday continues to snowball.

In the past hour Standard and Poor’s has downgraded Britain’s credit rating by two grades from AAA to AA, citing the result of the Brexit vote as the direct cause of this.

Credit ratings were at the centre of much of the discussions during Ireland’s tumultuous period following the collapse of the Celtic Tiger in 2007/2008 – and are an indicator on a country’s ability to pay back its debts, and in turn impacts on its ability to borrow on the international markets.

In a statement this afternoon the credit rating agency has said:

In our opinion, this outcome is a seminal event, and will lead to a less predictable, stable, and effective policy framework in the UK. We have reassessed our view of the UK’s institutional assessment and now no longer consider it a strength in our assessment of the rating.

In the statement the remain vote that has taken place in Northern Ireland and Scotland is also noted as a concern due to the “wider constitutional issues” it brings up.

This will come as unsettling news to the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne who earlier this morning sought to give assurances to international markets.

Speaking at the Treasury this morning he said that the British economy would have to “adjust to the new situation” but that it was prepared for the fallout from Brexit.

“I said we had to fix the roof so that we were prepared for what the future held. Thank goodness we did. As a result our economy is about as strong as it could be to confront the challenge our country now faces,” he said.

The chancellor stated again that the article 50 of the Lisbon treaty – which would trigger Britain’s formal withdrawal from the EU – would not have to be triggered until later this year.

Read: Wait, what exactly is happening with Jeremy Corbyn and Labour right now?

Also: Wave of hate crime and racist incidents following Brexit result

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89 Comments
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    Mute Daniel Morrissey
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    Apr 17th 2021, 12:20 AM

    Roll on the 26th change…. yawn…

    62
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    Mute Anna Carr
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    Apr 17th 2021, 12:56 AM

    @Daniel Morrissey: lol. I know how you feel. How many bloomin people over 65 are in the country. They seem to go on forever hahaha

    53
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    Mute Peter McGlynn
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    Apr 17th 2021, 1:12 AM

    @Anna Carr: I don’t know how many. How many people voted Fianna Fáil? In or around that amount.

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    Mute Ger
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    Apr 17th 2021, 3:06 AM

    @Anna Carr: it literally tells you in the article

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Apr 17th 2021, 3:16 AM

    @Ger: ah lighten up ger her comment was tongue in cheek jayus what are you not seeing there?

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 17th 2021, 5:13 AM

    @Daniel Morrissey: well yeah, can’t make them deliver it faster or make it ourselves so that’s what we have to do.

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    Mute Anto Curran
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    Apr 17th 2021, 8:00 AM

    @Peter McGlynn: obsessed with FF. Unless you’re playing an online game where you can try to fit FF into every comments section?

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    Mute Barbara Stewart
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    Apr 17th 2021, 11:55 AM

    @Anna Carr: Sorry for being 69 and delaying your vaccination….I could have said the same about all over 70s but I have a bit more respect!!!

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    Mute Tony Humphreys
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    Apr 17th 2021, 1:54 AM

    You lost me at the word ‘plan’. I always thought they there was only one plan – lockdown. Why do something when you can get away with nothing.

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 17th 2021, 5:14 AM

    @Tony Humphreys: well you thought wrong and then refused to think about it anymore

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    Mute Keith Richardson
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    Apr 17th 2021, 1:54 PM

    @Dave O’Keeffe: well there is no published plan on reopening. I’m sure there’s one on a desk somewhere. If people were treated like adults and told this then there would be increased confidence.

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 18th 2021, 5:32 AM

    @Keith Richardson: no, if there was a widely publicised plan with an unpredictable pandemic and unreliable delivery schedules any changes would undermine the confidence you claim it would bring.

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    Mute Tarraing Mo Liathróidí
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    Apr 17th 2021, 8:02 AM

    The fact we still likely won’t restart tourism and hospitality till June or July is just mind boggling, especially given the fact MM despite some who said it was lies when I pointed out that leaky Leo said the same thing, that he can’t say we won’t go into another lockdown after this one. And given the fact the hse management seem to have done nothing except allow the waiting list balloon and get themselves a pay rise, any extra surge from even a few covid cases over the winter months makes this likely since they now have a great excuse to cover up they barely cope any winter before covid hit. So this means a lot of small businesses and retail included as well may only have a small window to open and make some much needed money, meanwhile north will be full steam ahead open end of May.

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    Mute Siobhan Rosemary
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    Apr 17th 2021, 8:35 AM

    So the AstraZeneca isnt safe to use on under 60s but is safe for under 60s who received 1st dose?? Think il pass on the second thanks. Back of the que I go lol

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 18th 2021, 5:34 AM

    @Siobhan Rosemary: that silly. 1 in a million died of a blood clot that nobody knew to be looking for. That’s different now. 12 in a million died of covid here and doctors were definitely looking for it.

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    Mute K Flan
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    Apr 17th 2021, 11:26 AM

    2 more weeks to flatten the curve

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 18th 2021, 5:35 AM

    @K Flan: the curve is flattened. Sadly the base rate is still over 300 cases per day.

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    Mute Sean Callan
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    Apr 17th 2021, 7:26 AM

    Boring boring boring all this lot has to offer

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