European Currency

[Platypus]

It's inevitable, maybe 10 years, maybe 100, maybe 1000.

But it's inevitable, so the sooner the better IMO.

[Cyberman]

I agree. I have maintained for over 20 years that Scotland suffers from the strait-jacket of English monetary policy. What is good for England (if the London government ever guesses it) is potentially bad for Scotland.

Is that the kind of thing that you mean?

Perhaps it's slightly balanced out by the Barnet formula that gives every person in Scotland an extra grand a year.

[stackpole]

What are your position regarding the UK joining the European currency?

No thanks. We want to retain what's left of our independence.

[pzz76077]

I dont care, have been paid in Euros for many years!

Have no need for Sterling since I left the UK in 1999!

PZZ

[VectraMan]

Totally anti and always have been due to the loss of economic control that it would mean. Recent events have proved, as if we didn't already know, that having control of your own currency and thus your own interest rates is paramount in avoiding the consequences of a long-lasting recession.

Because of course the people in charge of our currency are doing such a fantastic job. Nobody can say with any certainty how the recession would have panned out for Britain if we had been part of the Euro all along. We might have lost control of interest rates, but then maybe our currency would still be worth something.

I don't claim to understand economics, but it seems to me that fluctuating currencies are a barrier to trade, and having a barrier to trade with your major trading partners is fool hardy at best.

[pzz76077]

Because of course the people in charge of our currency are doing such a fantastic job. Nobody can say with any certainty how the recession would have panned out for Britain if we had been part of the Euro all along. We might have lost control of interest rates, but then maybe our currency would still be worth something.

I don't claim to understand economics, but it seems to me that fluctuating currencies are a barrier to trade, and having a barrier to trade with your major trading partners is fool hardy at best.

How important is the UK and what kind of voice do they have in the rest of the world at the moment?? My observations are: almost none.

PZZ

[dang65]

Ah yes, the old "if you don't like the Euro you are brainwashed by the media and don't understand economics" garbage.

Well, I'm sure there are some people who genuinely don't like the Euro, without having had the media instruct them not to like it. But they can be ignored because they're obviously just mad.

[PM-Junkie]

Because of course the people in charge of our currency are doing such a fantastic job. Nobody can say with any certainty how the recession would have panned out for Britain if we had been part of the Euro all along. We might have lost control of interest rates, but then maybe our currency would still be worth something.

I don't claim to understand economics, but it seems to me that fluctuating currencies are a barrier to trade, and having a barrier to trade with your major trading partners is fool hardy at best.

That's odd, because the last time I looked the pound was worth considerably more than the dollar, and more than the euro.

The macro-economic forces on the euro mean it is doomed to fail unless there is complete fiscal and monetary unity. In other words one, basically country. That will only happen if it is forced on people because poll after poll in most EU countries shows there is no majority appetite for that. And if you look at what is happening in the EU.....that is precisely what is being attempted.

And if you don't believe me, compare Ireland to Germany. Ireland is virtually bankrupt, has no liquidity pretty much anywhere and is desperate for near zero interest rates. Germany has been running a buget surplus so does have available liquididy, and zero interest rates would weaken their economy further.

And yet there can only be one interest rate. And since the EU is basically a franco-german club, the interest rate is set to benifit the german economy so countries like Ireland can whistle.

Now does it make sense why the (thankfully - still) majority of people want nothing to do with the Euro?

[Gonzo]

For those that are enthusiastic about the UK joining the Euro I would have to ask what has changed since the UK's spell in the ERM from 1990 to 1992?

For those that don't remember that period the UK was locked into high Bank of England interest rates to maintain the value of Sterling in the exchange rate mechanism, when the country was crying out for lower interest rates to drag us out of a recession that felt like it went on forever.

The UK economy did not begin to improve until Sterling was withdrawn (ejected because George Soros had deeper pockets than the Bank of England ) from the ERM and interest rates were cut.

It is also necessary to remember just how much the UK is disliked by the rest of Europe. The UK government was able to point to five incidents where the German Bundesbank made the UK's defence of Sterling to keep it in the ERM more difficult than it should have been.

I am keen on European co-operation, but I don't think that the UK is going to be able to join the Euro. Maybe one day, but unlikely in my lifetime.

[suityou01]

No thanks. We want to retain what's left of our independence.

We have no independance. Brown is a puppet for Bliar to use once he becomes president of Europe this autumn. We signed away our rights years ago without referendum.