Clarke puts his money on delay in single currency
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Your support makes all the difference.Kenneth Clarke, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said yesterday that he would bet against the European single currency being launched on target at the start of 1999.
Told that European commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy had said the currency would start on time, the Chancellor said on BBC television's Frost on Sunday: "He has to say that, doesn't he?"
But Mr Clarke did not rule out the possibility of a 1999 launch, adding: "I'll have a bet with Yves, and he might win his bet. It's just that we've said it's not impossible that they'll be ready by 1 January 1999, but I hope the commissioner would agree they shouldn't go ahead on 1 January 1999 if countries are not genuinely convergent and they're taking any risks by going ahead."
An ICM poll carried out for tonight's BBC Panorama programme shows that while a majority, 54 per cent, of those questioned were opposed to a single currency, 65 per cent felt they were poorly informed.
And 61 per cent said they did not understand the meaning of "convergence criteria" - the economic performance measures that ministers will use to judge whether countries are strong enough to withstand the pressures of single currency discipline.
The political manoeuvres continued yesterday, with former Europe minister Tristan Garel-Jones arguing there was a cross-party majority of pro-European MPs. Writing in a Sunday newspaper he said: "What has happened over the past few years is that the minority of anti-Europeans have been able to dominate the debate because the majority have been divided by party considerations.
"The antis will squeal like stuck pigs at this ... the anti-European tone of the debate in Britain is undermining our ability to campaign for and influence the kind of Europe we want."
Mr Clarke also repudiated a suggestion that John Major was opposed to the single currency, following an interview with the New Yorker magazine in which he said the loss of control over interest rates was "an argument for never going in, and it's one we'll have to confront at some stage."
Mr Clarke said: "If what you're suggesting is that the Prime Minister is arguing those reasons for never joining, the Prime Minister negotiated ... to keep the options open."
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