Euro entry at least five years away

Paul Waugh|Deputy Political Editor|Evening Standard

13 April 2012

GORDON BROWN claimed Labour was the party of business today as he gave his strongest hint yet that Britain would not join the euro for another five years.

In his first remarks on the single currency in the General Election campaign, the Chancellor vowed that he would not recommend joining during the next Parliament unless the benefits were 'clear and unambiguous'.

Brown told the British Chambers of Commerce that his tough line on the euro was a key part of his promise that the stability of the economy will come 'first, foremost and at all times'.

His speech in London came as Labour and the Tories vied for the business vote, with Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiling a list of famous backers and Tory leader Michael Howard publishing his economic manifesto.

Labour also launched a new poster warning that people's homes would be at the mercy of higher interest rates if the Conservatives were returned to power. Eight different Cabinet ministers appeared in eight cities alongside leading businessmen in a bid to return the economy to centre stage of the party's campaign.

Brown said that his five tests on the economy, together with his decisions to hand interest rate decisions to the Bank of England and set a tough inflation target, had been aimed at delivering 'stability yesterday, today and tomorrow'.

'While we have always supported the euro in principle, we have been determined to ensure stability. Any decision must be based on the national economic interest and be clear and unambiguous,' he said. I believe we were right to conclude in this Parliament, when we examined the five tests in detail, that we could not recommend joining. In the next Parliament, and at all times, I can guarantee that the five tests would have to be met clearly and unambiguously.'

Can no one see the danger of Brown?

Euro-enthusiasts believe the phrase 'clear and unambiguous' sets the bar for euro entry too high, but Brown is determined not to loosen his tight grip on the issue.

More than 60 leading businessmen today endorsed Labour. Computer tycoon Sir Alan Sugar and ITV chief Charles Allan spearheaded the list, claiming that low taxes boosted entrepreneurs. But the Tories seized on fears among some in the business community that higher taxes were likely after polling day.

The Ernst & Young Item Club, which uses the Treasury's economic model, suggested that up to £8bn will have to be raised to close a black hole in public finances. It said that weak trading, the pensions deficit and low savings are storing up problems for the future. 'The UK economy is a bit like a house that looks fine from the outside. But when you get behind the facade, significant problems are revealed by the surveyor's report,' it said.

Former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke today weighed in for the Tories on the economy, declaring that the record of the last Conservative Government showed that taxes could be cut while public spending increased.

Labour's latest poster campaign is driven by private polling that shows the public link the Tories to mortgage payment increases of the early Nineties. Meanwhile, Blair and Brown published a report claiming that cities across the country had been transformed by regeneration since 1997.

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