Euro Parity: Brown Must Admit We Are Not Better Placed Than Others

Euro Parity: Brown Must Admit We Are Not Better Placed Than Others

Iain Dale 3:00 PM

"A weak currency is the sign of a weak economy, 
which is the sign of a weak government"
Gordon Brown, 1995

Today the Pound plummeted to parity with the euro, something many of us never thought would be possible. It has now fallen by more than 30%. I say it again. If our economy was so much better placed compared to other countries this would not be happening.

This is the point Opposition spokespeople need to make over and over again. It's a point which is clear, logical and easy to understand. And it also has the benefit of being true.

There will also now be many on the left who think that if we now have parity we might as well join the euro and have done with it. Those of us who think this would a be dreadful mistake must be prepared to join the battle again and explain clearly and concisely why Britain needs to retain control of its own currency and its own destiny. Just because wrong decisions have been made which have led to the disastrous situation the country finds itself in today, is no argument for us to surrender control of our currency in the future.

UPDATE 5pm: And as if by magic, the Tories have just issued this from Philip Hammond...

"The Government says it will not "step in" as the pound slides to parity with the Euro, but it is this Government's reckless intervention which has caused the pound's weakness. Gordon Brown's huge borrowing programme which has been ridiculed by the Germans and cautioned against by the IMF and the European Central Bank, has now been firmly rejected by the markets, which have responded to Brown's economic policies by dumping sterling."