It is not anti-European to argue Britain should keep the pound. "Business for Sterling" is supported by companies trading throughout the EU. We want the single market to work, albeit less trammelled by regulation. Actually, we wish the euro very well.
It would not be in Britain's interests for Europe to have an unstable currency, but joining the single currency remains an unacceptable gamble. Our business cycle is different from that of Germany and France, the locomotive economies of Europe.
The "one size fits all" interest rate is likely to suit continental, rather than British conditions. Britain's ill-fated membership of the ERM gave us high interest rates during a deep recession. Unemployment doubled and more firms were bankrupted than in any two-year period in our history.
Business should be wary of claims that the euro would bring us "stability". Less than half our exports go to Europe. We do more business in dollars than in all the European currencies combined, so fluctuations between the dollar and the euro could actually be destabilizing for the UK.
Our tax burden (38 percent of GDP) is far lower than the Euroland average (45 percent). UK corporate taxes are low. Tax harmonisation is a clear and present danger to Britain's competitiveness.
Since 1970, the US has created 50 million new jobs. The EU created 5 million. Unemployment has become the story of Europe. With an inflexible monetary policy, EMU could make it worse. Britain has the fifth largest economy in the world and one of the most competitive. We can be in Europe and the single market but keep our own currency. We can use the euro as freely as the dollar, but remain in control of our own affairs.