Mr Norman Lamont: What example in history is there of a single paper currency that is not tied to a single Government?
Mr Norman Lamont: I should like to return to what my right hon. and learned Friend was saying about the European Union's functions and ask him a question that an ambassador of this country asked me. He asked me to explain to him why it was necessary for the European Union to have more than 120 embassies—or "delegations" as they are called—around the world at a cost of £150 million per year. Is it really...
Mr Norman Lamont: Since the Maastricht treaty was agreed four years ago, the House has had many opportunities to debate monetary union and the question will not go away, although I am sure that the Government wish that it would. European politicians have performed their primitive rain dance and, contrary to the predictions, the first few drops of rain are beginning to appear. The Government have had four...
Mr Norman Lamont: Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way?
Mr Norman Lamont: rose—
Mr Norman Lamont: rose—
Mr Norman Lamont: As my right hon. and learned Friend is so adamant that monetary union will not lead to political union, will he address the fact that most of our partners in Europe—certainly the Germans—seem to believe that? The chief economist of the Bundesbank has said: there is no example in history of a lasting monetary union that was not linked to one state. The president of the Bundesbank said: A...
Mr Norman Lamont: indicated dissent.
Mr Norman Lamont: Is the Chancellor aware that there is total support for the view that the convergence criteria should not be fudged? However, does not that also apply to this country? Will my right hon. and learned Friend confirm that it is a provision in the Maastricht treaty that, in order to qualify for EMU, a country has to join the exchange rate mechanism? Is not that the reason why Italy has rejoined...
Mr Norman Lamont: May I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his statement? As someone who helped to negotiate the opt-out at Maastricht in addition to the Prime Minister, might I say to my right hon. and learned Friend that I agree with his interpretation? I believe that he is correct to say that fines would not apply to us provided that we did not join the single currency. I agree with him that the...
Mr Norman Lamont: Surely the real issue is not whether what the Leader of the Opposition says is right or wrong or whether the working time directive is right or wrong, but whether the matter ought to be decided in Brussels or by the elected Government of this country. What is the point in holding elections if the elected Government cannot carry out the policies on which they were elected?
Mr Norman Lamont: Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that he has aroused great sympathy and admiration for the way in which he has dealt with his awe-inspiring responsibilities? Is it not time to recognise that there is no "middle way" between Unionism and nationalism—to use the phrase of the Irish Foreign Minister? If we pursue a middle way that does not exist, there is a danger that we will arouse...
Mr Norman Lamont: indicated dissent.
Mr Norman Lamont: Does the Prime Minister recall that, during the Napoleonic wars, Samuel Whitbread, the founder of the modern business, was always predicting defeat and urging the Government to open negotiations with Napoleon? Will the Prime Minister ignore the successors to Samuel Whitbread in the Confederation of British Industry who want to throw in the towel and who seem so indifferent to the plight of...
Mr Norman Lamont: Is the Prime Minister aware that there will be total support for his comments yesterday about the European Union ban on worldwide exports of British beef which he said was unjustifiable, unjust and should be reversed? Does the Prime Minister recognise that we do not wish to be bribed, by accepting the return of some of our own money, into agreeing to something that is fundamentally wrong? Is...
Mr Norman Lamont: I congratulate my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary on the skill with which he handled so many questions, but the number of questions indicated how strongly my right hon. and hon. Friends feel about the issues. I am sure that those questions reflect public opinion in this country. I wish my right hon. and learned Friend well. I, of all people, know how difficult his task...
Mr Norman Lamont: May I welcome much of what is in the White Paper and what my right hon. and learned Friend said about qualified majority voting and about the European Parliament, if we have to have one? Is not the real test of what my right hon. and learned Friend has said whether, over the next few years, Britain can avoid being sucked into a European state of the kind that many of our partners want, as I...
Mr Norman Lamont: In the run-up to the intergovernmental conference, would the Prime Minister like to congratulate the European Commission on the success of its "Interfere in Britain" week? Should the first prize go to the European Court of Justice for its ruling on fishing or to the attack on the brand of Cheddar cheese, or should the golden fleece go to the European Commission's astonishing dawn raid on the...
Mr Norman Lamont: Will the Prime Minister take an early opportunity to point out to the public that almost every country in Europe has had to put up taxes to deal with the effect on deficits of the recession? Will he also point out that, every after recent tax increases, the tax burden in this country in the 1990s will be lower than it was in the 1980s, just as it was lower in the 1980s than in the 1970s,...
Mr Norman Lamont: Will my right hon. Friend address the question that I put to the Prime Minister earlier, to which I do not believe he gave a clear answer? I asked whether the Government believe that monetary union will lead to political union or whether they believe, as Lord Lawson said the other day, that one cannot have one without the other? I believe that this is the issue of principle. It is two years...