Gordon Brown just claimed in the Commons that he had “never given a running commentary” on the currency markets, whether in government or in opposition. “It is highly irresponsible for [the Tories] to do that in the current circumstances”. To make his point, the prime minister even went on to quote Margaret Thatcher’s attack on those who “talk sterling down in an un-British way”.
Is that the same Gordon Brown who wrote this in the Evening Standard, weeks after the pound crashed out of the ERM?
It’s no good the Government blaming a referendum campaign in France or a whispering campaign in Germany for the crisis of the last fortnight. People will ask why it is that when there are problems in Germany it is the pound that is hit, why when the French go to the polls it is the pound that comes under pressure, and why when the Bundesbank leaks, it is the pound that the speculators target.
The reason is that a weak currency arises from a weak economy which in turn is the result of a weak Government. A Government unwilling to introduce an industry strategy and unwilling to take the measures necessary to bring us out of recession will leave our economy, and our currency, weak.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey
