Economic and Monetary Union

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 November 1997.

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Photo of Gordon Brown Gordon Brown The Chancellor of the Exchequer 12:00, 27 November 1997

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend that what frustrated British business was the previous Government's inability to help them with preparations to cope with the introduction of the euro in other member states in 1999. Marks and Spencer has said that it will have the capacity to deal with the euro in the United Kingdom as well as Europe. Other companies such as the National Westminster bank are preparing to trade in euros and to train staff to do so. The Conservative party should wake up to the fact that this is something that is going to happen in other member states in 1999, and it should stop its ideological opposition to a single currency.