Should Britain replace the pound with the euro? Apparently we don’t have to decide. We can keep the pound and use the euro as a parallel currency..

In an easily understandable booklet, published by the Economic Research Council, James Robertson says that the way the question Should Britain join the euro?’ is normally put risks conveying a false idea: that Yes is the forward looking answer and No is the the backward-looking response. This is simply not true. In fact forward-looking people find that the debate has so far lacked vision on both sides, assuming that the benefits of using the euro must mean giving up the pound.

“We are presented with a picture of Yes’ supporters, eager to jump on the bandwagon of economic centralisation and corporate globalisation, and No’ supporters as nostalgic anti-Europeans emotionally tied to the pound. If we choose to keep our monetary independence this will enable us to play a leading role in democratic monetary reform and innovation, says James Robertson.

“Replacing the pound with the euro, and acquiring a fifteenth share of virtually no political control over the European Central Bank would make this very much more difficult.“
The role of alternative currencies at the local level, co-existing with the euro in the Eurozone and with national currencies elsewhere, is growing. This points towards the future evolution of a multi-level system of parallel currencies ñ in tune with the increasingly supra-national and devolved features of 21st-century society. In addition to its immediate benefits, experience of using the euro as a parallel currency alongside the pound will help to keep the UK at the forefront of monetary advance.
FURTHER INFORMATION : Forward with the Euro ñ AND the Pound’ by James Robertson, price £6.50 from The Economic Research Council, 7 St. James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4JU.