Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw sign the European constitution in Rome, October 2004
(EPA/EMPICS)
What do the parties say?
Europe makes all three main parties nervous. The big questions
are whether to adopt the new European constitution and whether
to replace the pound with the euro. The constitution would give
the EU a lot more power in our everyday life. It might also lead
to the formation of an EU army in place of our national one. Using
the euro would make European trade simpler and tie us in more
centrally to the EU.
Labour want the UK to be a central player in the EU. They also
know that many people don’t like the thought of ditching the pound.
Labour will back a ‘yes’ vote on the EU constitution, but Tony
Blair’s view of the euro is less clear. The party has adopted
a wait-and-see policy – basically, not giving an answer either
way. Officially, Gordon Brown has some economic tests for when
the time will be right for the euro. Unofficially, it’s all a
bit of a mess. Labour probably will bring in the euro if they
stay in power. They just haven’t said when.
If the Conservatives are elected they will hold a vote about
joining the EU constitution. This would happen straight away,
with the party backing a ‘no’ vote. Michael Howard has said that
he wants to review how the UK fits into the EU. He doesn’t want
to withdraw; just make Britain more independent. However, plenty
of Tories are against EU membership.
The Liberal Democrats are strongly in favour of the new constitution,
and would hold an immediate vote on whether Britain should adopt
the euro. |
