SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WALES AND THE SINGLE CURRENCY

Early day motion 282, tabled 4 December 2002 by Llew Smith (Labour). Signed by 11 members.

That this House welcomes the recognition by the Right honourable Member for Neath, as Secretary of State for Wales and Her Majesty's Government's representative on the Convention on the Future of Europe, of the threat to democracy in the United Kingdom if we join the Single Currency; recalls in particular his recognition that if the 'Monetarist regime of Maastricht were to be implemented in line with the Treaty's obligations, democracy would be confined to the scrap heap because not only would control of monetary policy be handed over to unelected bankers, control over fiscal policy would be subject to the strict limits prescribed in the Treaty, and control over currency levels would be relinquished'; recognises the problems that would be created for the United Kingdom if we were foolish enough to join the euro; congratulates the Secretary of State on his perspicacity on recognising the danger to democracy of handing power over from a directly elected parliament to unelected and unaccountable bankers; believes that this would make a mockery of elections, because elected polititians would no longer have the powers to run our economy; further notes his observation that 'monetary union would probably be incompatible with enlargement'; and calls upon the Secretary of State to put his accurate analysis into political practice.

Signatures by party: Labour 9, Labour/Co-operative 2.