Sterling plummets to 18-month low on reports UK government could pull Parliament's vote on Brexit

Reports that Tuesday's Brexit vote in the U.K. parliament has been delayed by Prime Minister Theresa May has sent sterling reeling.

The pound fell to $1.266, a level not seen since June 2017, following several media reports that May had gathered senior aides at a Monday morning meeting in 10 Downing Street to discuss pulling the vote.

The political editor of The Sun newspaper said on Twitter that the meeting would decide the fate of the vote.

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That assertion was supported by the BBC's political editor who said she had heard that the vote would likely not happen on Tuesday.

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However in a phone call to CNBC, a press officer to 10 Downing Street said the vote was still on track for Tuesday night.

"The spokesperson gave a briefing not long ago to say that the vote is going ahead tomorrow as planned, there is nothing else to add at this stage."

Members of the U.K.'s main opposition Labour Party have said

Any delay would be seen as an attempt by the government to return to the negotiating table with the European Union and seek terms more amenable to U.K. lawmakers.

The climb-down will be seen as a failure on the government's part to persuade enough lawmakers that the draft Brexit deal with Brussels is the best possible arrangement.

The vote in the House of Commons is termed the "Meaningful Vote" and is to allow lawmakers to have their say on the terms of Brexit that the EU and British government had previously agreed.

May's motion that she seeks parliamentary backing for includes a "Withdrawal Deal" that outlines the divorce and a "Future Relationship" document that spells out the areas of negotiation that we needed to resolve how the EU and U.K. will interact in future.

May has claimed it is the best deal she could get to satisfy a deeply divided country which in June 2016 voted 52 percent to leave and 48 percent to remain in the EU.

But MPs from all sides of the British political spectrum have publicly refused to back the deal. Her deal with Europe is seen by some as a sell-out to the ideals of Brexit, reducing Britain's influence while staying within many of the EU's rules.

And many of those who oppose Brexit didn't like the deal either. They have argued that it will reduce Britain's ease of trade with the world, repel global talent, and increase the cost of living.

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