International
Most Britons are opposed to euro
By Hasan Suroor
LONDON, JAN. 7. The first of a clutch of opinion polls, since the launch of the euro in 12 European countries a week ago, shows that most Britons continue to be opposed to the idea of giving up the pound, though an overwhelming majority thinks that they would be willy-nilly dragged into a single currency by a europhile Blair Government.
Three of the four polls indicate entrenched opposition to abandoning the pound, belying the expectation that once euro notes and coins are in circulation and people become familiar with the new currency, they are likely to be more favourably disposed towards it. Familiarity, it was argued, would breed ``consent'', but so far there is little indication of that with over 70 per cent Britons remaining hostile to the idea.
The only change since the introduction of the euro has been that more people are now inclined to be reluctantly drawn into a single currency provided the Government is able to convince them that it is in their and the country's economic interests to do so. Euro-enthusiasts have seized on this to claim that a referendum on the issue would be ``eminently winnable'' - a claim strongly contested by europhobics who have hailed the polls as a ``vindication'' of their own position. They pointed out that there was widespread opposition even among Labour and Liberal Democrats voters despite the fact that both parties are committed to single currency.
The findings coincided with a row over a perceived split in the Government on the issue with leading figures making seemingly contradictory statements on whether a decision on accepting the euro would be based on economic or political considerations. The Government has consistently maintained that it will be an economic decision based on the five tests devised by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown. Once he indicates that it is in the economic interest of Britain to go into a single currency, the Government will call a referendum giving the people a final say.
But in the past few days, there have been signals that politics will greatly influence a decision prompting the Tories and other eurosceptics to demand that the Government ``come clean'' on it.
``With every day that passes, the Government's disarray over the euro grows. Their carefully laid plans to deceive the British people have fallen apart. The sooner they come clean, the better,'' the Shadow Chancellor, Michael Howard, said amid accusations that the referendum itself might be ``fudged'' with people being asked to answer leading questions rather than simply say: ``Yes'' or ``No'' to single currency. Critics allege that the outcome of a referendum could be influenced by how the issue is posed to the people.
The first indication of what the Tories believe is confusion at the top came when a senior Treasury official, Gus O'Donnell suggested that a decision would be influenced by political considerations. This was echoed by the Labour Party chairman, Charles Clarke who said: ``You can never get two economics to agree, so there will always be plenty of arguments about how the tests are done.''
The former Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, currently leader of the Commons, also emphasised the political importance of being in Europe in what was seen as reinforcing the political aspect of the issue; and this was followed by a cryptic comment from the Foreign Office Minister, Peter Hain. He said: ``The Government will form a view on the basis of the economic assessment, so if you like, it's a political judgment on the basis of an economic assessment''.
The Treasury Secretary, Andrew Smith, however, insisted that the country's economic interests alone would influence a decision.
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