Geoffrey Howe
Leon Brittan
Tony Blair
Paddy Ashdown
Michael Heseltine
Peter Mandelson
John Major
Richard Branson
The Financial Times
Peter Sutherland - former chairman of BP
Ken Clarke
The BBC
Charles Kennedy
Neil Kinnock
Adair Turner - former head of the CBI
Nick Clegg
Chris Huhne
Danny Alexander (*)
The long memory of Peter Oborne is demonstrated with malice aforethought in The Telegraph today in which he produces some of the list above (other names have been added), which could be a lot longer, of the 'Great and the Good' who from the '80s and '90s have proclaimed long and loud that Britain's place was inside the euro and that to remain outside would lead to an unmitigated economic disaster and the fault would be entirely due to the stupidity and 'little Englander' attitude of stubborn nationalists like Maggie Thatcher - well, who else, she was, and still is, blamed for everything? As Oborne reminds us, several Tory grandees, led by Geoffrey Howe, used the ferocious debates over entry into the euro as a means and an excuse for stabbing 'that woman' in the back but, by the skin of our teeth and a little help from currency speculators including, delicious irony, a certain George Soros, we managed to miss the boat.
So how does it all look today? Oh dear, "what a falling off was there"! Like everyone else, Britain was hit below the financial sealine by the torpedoes released during 2007/8 but as a free-sailing entity we have been able to dump some cargo overboard, start pumping out the bilges and steer our own course. The other ships in the euro fleet remain shackled together and irrespective of their own desires they now have no choice but to be towed along by the 'SS Bismarck' on a course ordered by 'Adm.' Merkel. Needless to say, although it amazes me how many people fail to realise it, the course chosen will be entirely to the benefit of Germany and the other big ships in the fleet. As proof I can offer this report from James Quinn in The Telegraph, confirmed by others in recent days, that one of the main aims of the so-called 'friends' of Ireland as they come to her 'rescue' is that in return for the loan she doesn't want or need she raise her amazingly low corporation tax rate of 12.5% which has attracted a plethora of seriously Big Business to come and settle in Dublin. Today several of them, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Intel, have warned the Irish government that if they give in to 'EUSSR' pressure and raise rates they are likely to depart. Liam Halligan in the same paper also claims that the Irish do not actually need the loan that is being pressed upon them and that it is only being inisted upon by the 'Reichsministers' because
The eurozone big boys have decided that Ireland's "insolvency" is now jeopardizing the ability of other bigger countries namely Portugal, Spain and (whisper it) Italy[**] to keep borrowing. (My emphasis, see note below.)
With friends like that, who needs enemies?
Daniel Hannan, who else, joins in with some finger pointing of his own aided by some delicious quotes from - well, guess who?
The euro, despite the foolish assumption of many commentators that it should be judged according to its external level with the dollar, has already provided great internal stability to the eurozone.
And this,
The euro has done more to enforce budgetary discipline in the rest of Europe than any number of exhortations from the IMF or the OECD. If we remain outside the euro, we will simply continue to subside into a position of relative poverty and inefficiency compared to our more prosperous European neighbours.
That titan amongst minnows, Nick Clegg, that's who! I must add that Peter Oborne telephoned several of the 'usual suspects' asking if any of them were prepared to apologise. "But answer came there none!"
Looking back on Lady Thatcher's remarkable leadership of this country perhaps her greatest achievement was her stubborn refusal to allow the euro bandwagon to roll right over her. Praise, too, for William Hague who had to endure vilification for his refusal to join the joyful parade. And finally, and most mysteriously of all, praise for Gordon Brown who for once took the right decision and kept us out, even if, as I suspect, he did so not for principled reasons but simply to poke Tony Blair in the eye with a sharp stick.
(*) Danny Alexander has, according to Hannan, apologised for his mistake - so hurrah for him!
(**) I'm glad Italy received a mention - see my preceding post.
Comments