§ 8. Dr. Julian Lewis (New Forest, East)What assessment he has made of the implications for small businesses of future British non-participation in the single European currency. [115667]
§ The Minister for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe (Mrs. Helen Liddell)I talk frequently to small and medium-sized enterprises and business groups as part of the Government's ongoing assessment of the impact of the euro on UK SMEs while the UK remains out. As euro use increases as we come nearer to the introduction of notes and coins on 1 January 2002 in the first wave, there will be increased pressure on UK SMEs because of increased price transparency. There will also be significant new opportunities for SMEs, and it is the aim of my Department to ensure that small firms benefit from them.
§ Dr. LewisIs the Minister aware that the result of the latest ICM poll, which was commissioned by the commonsense Conservative keep the pound campaign, shows yet again that more than 60 per cent. of the British people do not wish Britain to join the single currency and that only 28 per cent. do? Does the right hon. Lady realise that the proportion of the British people who are against joining the single currency is much higher than the average among small businesses? Why do she and the Government persist with their arrogant disregard for the opinion of small business men and the British people as a whole on this crucial issue?
§ Mrs. LiddellThe phrase "commonsense Conservative" is a contradiction in terms. The hon. Gentleman should reflect on the views of those on his own Front Bench. The hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr. Gibb) said on 17 June last year in the Standing Committee considering the Finance Bill:
Whether our party changes its policy will depend on what the right policy is.—[Official Report, Standing Committee B, 17 June 1999; c. 659.]I suppose it depends which part of the Conservative party one is a member of.The Government recognise that a single currency exists, and we will ensure that United Kingdom small firms get the full benefit of the opportunities that it offers, whether Britain is in or out. We will ensure that the people of this country get an opportunity to decide whether Britain should join a single currency when the economic circumstances are right.
§ Mr. Dale Campbell-Savours (Workington)My right hon. Friend should ignore rigged Tory polls, which are what the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis) cited. Business men in my constituency are making their position clear. They want to join the euro because they 487 believe that it will create better employment conditions in Britain, and they want an early referendum, so that the real arguments can be put before the British people.
§ Mrs. LiddellMy hon. Friend makes a valid point. More than 40 per cent. of United Kingdom SMEs already export to the euro zone. There are significant opportunities for them in that zone, but it is important for the entire UK economy that we make sure that the economic preconditions are right before the Government recommend to the people of this country, in a referendum, entry to a single currency. The Government have the commonsense approach; the Opposition's attitude is increasingly turning into xenophobia.
§ Mr. Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon)I speak as president of a small business in my constituency which employs 130 people in the food manufacturing sector. Does the right hon. Lady accept that that sector, along with agriculture, from which we get our raw materials, and tourism, to which we sell a proportion of our product, are being undermined by the strength of the pound against the euro, and that there is a crying need for us to go into the euro at the correct rate, to give those sectors, along with sectors such as steel, the opportunity of a future in an export market?
§ Mrs. LiddellI am very interested to hear about small firms that have presidents—an unusual development in the British small firms sector. It would not help any company, large or small, for the Government to take decisions that were not based on the best economic preconditions. That is why my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has set five commonsense tests that will have to be met before the Government could recommend to the country that we should join a single currency.
In the meantime, the existence of the euro zone means that the United Kingdom's small and medium-sized enterprises must look to their marketing and the consequences of increased price transparency. That is why in my Department we are concentrating on exports, the euro and electronic commerce, so that SMEs know the benefits of all three.