Pressure mounts on May as rate hike decision nears

Following an ill-received party conference speech by Teresa May on Tuesday, pressure is mounting for the Conservative party to initiate a leadership contest, casting doubt on the stability of the UK political situation and the implications this has for already slowly progressing Brexit negotiations. Today, Conservative party members have been calling publicly for the leadership contest and it is looking increasingly likely that the Prime Minister's position has become untenable, though key figures such as Michael Gove have been speaking to defend her role as party leader. The political disquiet has hit the pound, which has, since yesterday, had the worst week of declines against major currencies in over a year, with Sterling falling 2.47% against the US dollar this week. Affecting the pound also is the attention being turned to the Bank of England's looming rate hike decision, the certainty of which is now being questioned after a string of disappointing economic data this week.