City chiefs began 2018 relatively optimistic about the government’s ability to secure their sector a good Brexit. Six months on, one bank lobbyist summed up the reason many finance executives believe a chaotic Brexit cannot be ruled out: “Things are a complete mess at the moment.”

With less than 10 months until the deadline by which Brexit talks must have concluded, hopes were high that the uncertainty bemoaned by City brass would be reduced by last week’s key parliamentary votes on amendments to the European Union withdrawal bill. Instead, the failure of the amendments put forward by the House of Lords sparked a new round of sniping over whether parliament would have a “meaningful vote” on the final Brexit deal. By the end of the week, there was little news to assuage fears that such a vote might lead to the UK crashing out of the bloc in March 2019 without any deal secured.