BEWARE OF LABOUR & THE LIB DEMS EURO PROPAGANDA

 

The campaign to join the Euro is beginning in earnest. Both Gary Titley and Chris Davies, Labour and Lib Dem North West MEPs respectively, are supporting the Euro enthusiastically in the region's media. But like Gordon Brown they are over-stating the likely benefits of Euro membership - while flagging up none of the risks. The Chancellor claims that existing eurozone countries have enjoyed as much as a 25 per cent boost in trade as a result of membership. But the Treasury’s own studies conclude that the evidence is ‘uninformative’ and that the real effect could be as low as just a 3 per cent increase. Mr Brown also argues that euro membership could increase UK trade with the eurozone by as much as 50 per cent. What’s his basis for this? The studies of currency unions between countries like Angola, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Chad, San Marino, The Vatican City, Tuvalu, Tonga and The Christmas Islands! These countries economies have no great relevance to Britain or the North West.

The UK's ability to trade and compete depends on how productive we are – the quality of the goods and services we produce, and the price at which we can sell them. That depends on cutting red tape, keeping taxes down, improving training and keeping a lid on inflation. But since 1997, productivity growth has halved under Labour, while new regulations have been produced at the rate of 15 every working day.
Joining the Euro would do nothing to reverse the damage of Labour's tax and waste policies - especially to small businesses in the North West. Furthermore, joining would prevent us from being able to set interest rates according to our own needs. Our interest rates and exchange rate would be fixed in Frankfurt. As a result if our productivity does grow fast enough, trade could fall, not rise, and that would be terribly damaging to jobs in the North West. That is the real truth about joining the euro - it would be a disaster for our region and our country.

 

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