Britain's finance minister will try to navigate a political minefield Monday when he unveils a budget that could be scuppered by the final terms of Brexit next year.
Philip Hammond's appearance in parliament was moved forward a month to give lawmakers a chance to consider it quickly and then focus on legislation needed to get Britain safely out of the European Union in March.
London and Brussels remain locked in negotiations and it is still uncertain whether Prime Minister Theresa May can get an eventual deal with the EU backed by lawmakers.
The spending plan that emerges from Hammond's red briefcase will be studied warily by May's ruling coalition partners from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.
The small group is a kingmaker that could yet sink both the draft agreement with Brussels and May's government in protest over the emerging outlines of a Brexit deal.
This level of uncertainty forced Hammond to admit Sunday that "frankly, we'd need to have a new budget that sets out a different strategy" should negotiations fail to salvage an agreement between all sides. He also pledged to keep "fiscal buffers" in place to handle any scenario.
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But Hammond argues that a workable solution is both possible and likely to bring a "Brexit dividend" that gives a boost to lagging economic growth.
"Of course we can never know until we have actually done the deal, but everything tells me that it is very much in the interest not only of the UK but also of the EU," he told the BBC on Sunday.
"Everything I hear tells me that the 27 member states want a deal done with the UK."