lifestyle leader

Minutes after posting my look at sterling and the prospects for Britain joining the common currency (see below), Nick Clegg steps out and validates one half of my conclusion: the debate will seriously reemerge during 2009.

In an interview with the FT, the Lib Dem leader echoes the main conclusions of the "10 Years of the Euro: new perspectives for Britain" report, arguing that Britain must join the Euro to "salvage the public finances and prevent the 'permanent decline' of the city." He believes public opinion could swing violently in favor of the euro should the pound's volatility continue in the face of the euro's relative stability.

“In that context of people just longing for clearer rules, for reliability, for stability, for certainty, you might just find that becoming part of the reserve currency on our doorstep might become part of the recipe . . . by which we put the British economy back together on a more sustainable footing.”

This is a bold position for the Lib Dem leader, sure to provide him with the spotlight in the days to come. Unfortunately for Clegg, his authority to influence such a decision is nonexistent. The Lib Dems occupy a seemingly permanent minority position and Clegg himself has failed to distinguish his leadership since succeeding Ming in 2007. The buzz in Westminster is that the Lib Dems are engaged in backroom negotiations with the Tories over a possible coalition government should the next general election result in a hung Parliament (conservative win short of a majority). But a Tory minority government would be an unlikely partner for the Lib Dems on Europe in general, and especially so on Euro accession.

Regardless of his or his party's prospects, Clegg has thrust Euro accession back into the British political discussion. I am eager to see how Brown and Cameron respond.