UK business gets behind euro: Cathy Hayward reports on a lively debate on the merits of the single currency.

AuthorHayward, Cathy
PositionSingle European Currency

If the UK were to join the euro, it would be as if 12 neighbours were sharing one bank account, argued John Redwood MP at a conference organised by the campaign group Britain in Europe. " We don't share a bank account with our next-door neighbours, because we would lose control over our own affairs," he said. "And there's the possibility that the chap down the road might empty the account."

As a member of the single currency, the UK would lose inward investment and be a less attractive place to do business, he claimed. "The great success of our economy over the past 20 years has been less unemployment and faster growth than our European neighbours. We did badly when we joined the ERM, so why should we join the euro?"

But Robin Cook MP argued that staying out would be costly. In his first public speech since resigning from his cabinet post, Cook claimed that membership of the euro would make the UK economy more prosperous and give the country more influence abroad. "It would stimulate more trade with other euro members, because staying out is a form of protectionism."

Cook urged the government to set a date--January 2007--for entry. His comments followed a letter to the prime minister from 25 business leaders, including Sir Christopher Gent, chief executive of Vodafone, arguing that a decision to rule out entry to the euro for the rest of this Parliament would damage the...

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