If the whole Euro thing was an ill conceived paved with golden intentions thing then have some questions, TLS.
In a fairly short time England will have to reconsider whether they want to maintain the status quo, adopt the Euro, or just part ways completely. You've stated a full exit would have a positive economic benefit for the Brits. Therefore...
Who decides in England? Parliament, popular vote, MP's?
What's the benefit, purported or otherwise for continuing with things as they are?
Is it believed that an exit would result in punitive retaliatory measures?
What about other countries that belong but don't use the Euro?
What's the interest in the united states for wanting to see the preservation of the EU? Just the POTUS or is Congress ismilsrly like minded?
If England opts out, are they still compelled, perhaps by existing laws or policies, to have a carte Blanche for people looking to leave their countries and settle there?
First you have to understand that Britain does not have a written constitution. It is based on tradition and precedence.
Only the House of commons can pass legislation of the type we are talking about. The House of Lords will debate it, but have no power of veto. All legislation requires royal consent, but only in exceptional circumstances would it be denied and there would be a constitutional crisis.
Now in UK general elections you vote for an MP. The party with the most MPs is asked by the Queen to form her government. It should be understood that the party selects the prime minister and can and sometimes does replace him or her. With the parliamentary whips, a British prime minister has enormous power to get through legislation.
Now the UK has had a difficult relationship with what was originally called the European Common Market, and was a free trade association. Charles De Gaullle was always opposed to British membership. However Prime Minister Edward Heath, a committed Europhile, got the UK admitted.
Over time the EU has had mission creep, and got involved in free movement of labor, standards, (including stupid ones about how curved a banana can be) human rights and most stupidly of all the Euro currency.
Gordon Brown the last labor prime minister to his credit kept the UK from getting entangled in the Euro project and kept the UK anchored to its world reserve currency Sterling.
Over time many in the conservative party have become increasingly Eurosceptic. In addition there has been the rise of UKIP under Nigel Farage that wants the UK out of the EU.
Because of all the pressure, especially from UKIP, David Cameron the prime minister promised an in out referendum to be held prior to the end of 2017. He has stated he is going to get treaty change in the EU, and if not back exit. So far he has not had much traction getting the treaty of Lisbon changed, which would require the agreement of all members.
Prior to this last weeks fiasco a slight majority of the UK population have been in favor of staying in. However this small majority has fluctuated for and against over time. My hunch is that this fiasco over Greece will drive up the out numbers.
The down side of leaving is the possibility of trade disruption with continental Europe. However due to the endless poor performance of the EU, UK trade with the EU is dropping precipitously and Britain doing well in other markets. In addition I'm pretty sure whatever the outcome the city of London will remain a world financial center the equal of New York. As a financial center, London dwarfs all others in Europe, much to the annoyance of the French and Germans.
A big frustration is the arrival of huge numbers of arrivals from poor performing members in the EU like Greece, Spain, Italy Portugal, Poland and Romania especially. In London I have found practically every language is spoken except English. Even far out in the countryside of the Malvern Hills I have frequently encountered Eastern European tongues.
This has caused enormous anger among the UK English speaking public. Regaining control of the borders is a major part of the UKIP platform. This uncontrolled immigration has caused a massive housing shortage in the UK.
My hunch is that the vote will be a vote to leave when it comes. Now any referendum is non binding, as only Parliament can enact the law to leave the EU. However I very much doubt that a vote to exit the EU by the public would not soon result in legislation to leave the EU.
After that, then the writ of law of the EU would be null and void in the UK and the UK would regain control of its borders.
Britain will NEVER adopt the Euro.
If Britain exits, I actually expect a number of other European countries to join with her in a new trade association. I'm personally convinced leaving the EU is the correct choice for Britain and will result in great benefits.
