The Euro, one of the world’s major currencies, is on the point of collapse, with untold consequences not only for the third of a billion people who use it, but for the millions more in countries for whom the Eurozone is a major trading partner (which of course include the UK). The leaders of the European Union meet to to try and avert the catastrophe, and, rising magnificently to the occasion, the UK’s governing party decides to use this moment to pursue its own narrow political agenda. I’m no economist, and no expert on politics either, but something about the sheer, petty nimbyism of it all really sickens me.
Our dear leader was particularly concerned, of course, to protect the City of London, that fine institution that has served us so well in recent years, against excessive regulation that might ‘reduce its competitiveness’. We seem destined to become a kind of overgrown Guernsey or Isle of Man, a marginal place that makes its way in the world as a comfortable haven for rich people who don’t like paying tax, and for financial institutions that don’t like being overseen.
I absolutely agree. I’ve heard several political commentators talk about the benefits to the City but only one discussed the potential damage to the country.