"BRITISH BUSINESS SUPPORTS A SINGLE EUROPEAN CURRENCY"
This claim is based on membership surveys by The Confederation of British Industry.
By sample questionnaire to one or two thousand of its members.
Sample selection process unknown - But
CBI membership is about 8000 companies. 36% of CBI members are appointed by the Government through the DTI. A large proportion are foreign owned companies, others currency speculators. 14% of CBI membership are lawyers, accountants, surveyors and bankers.
The CBI itself is led by three Irishmen (one an ex-EU Commissioner) whose country does extremely well out of the EU gravy train (although ordinary Irish people don't see much benefit).
Only a quarter of CBI members surveyed bothered to answer - (Self-selection is always bad practice for genuine opinion polls). Barely a fifth of that number agreed! Hardly ringing support for EMU from business!
The question (proposition?) put in the CBI "survey" was - "Britain should plan to join EMU as soon as convergence is in place and a competitively sustainable exchange rate exists".
EMU opponents argue real convergence or sustainable exchange rates are
impossible. But if it happened(!) businesses could expect a British plan to
join EMU. ....... And if pigs grew wings you could expect them to fly!
Chairmen of the following companies have signed a letter warning of the dangers of EMU membership:-
Lonrho, Dixons, Hansons, Burton Group, Kaye Enterprises, Jardine Matheson,
Kwik Save, TI Group, McAlpine, Wassall plc, Hillsdown Holdings, Associated
British Foods, Great Universal Stores.
Yet CBI members and officials who speak against a Single Currency go mostly unreported by the media.
In a 1994 CBI survey only 206 of a selected 624 companies answered. Barely 59 replies favoured EMU. Yet CBI and the news organisations amazingly claimed this meant "84% of CBI members favoured a single currency"!! A CBI poll planned for autumn 1998 was cancelled because an embarrassed Mori Polls boss, Mr Bob Worcester, asked the CBI to allow a more scientific method. The CBI refused - they would have got an answer they didn't want!
Ordinary CBI members are now fighting back. 100 of them have formed the "Business for Sterling" Campaign.
But CBI companies employ only 10% of workers. Members of the Institute of Directors - people who actually run businesses - say EMU is "unworkable". 73% of IOD members wanted no further integration with the EU and to pull back from the present position. The Federation of Small Businesses (representing the country's small and medium size companies) at a recent conference voted decisively for Britain to pull out of the EU altogether (unsurprising as small to medium size businesses are hardest hit by an EU dominated by huge Corporations).
Media reporters know these facts but rarely report it. Unashamedly they push the propaganda that Business supports Economic and Monetary Union. Why? That is an issue for another leaflet - But at least you now know -
"BRITISH BUSINESS DOES NOT SUPPORT A SINGLE CURRENCY"
The biggest propaganda exercise the world has ever seen. The EU spends
billions of pounds, in schools, colleges, universities, libraries, and
other public places; in newspapers, radio and TV; on advertising,
literature and public relations. EU grants, payments, subsidy, financial
favours, regulations and directives etc. serve huge corporations,
politicians, bureaucrats and other people of influence extremely well - but
ordinary people, small business and national economies suffer (even in
countries which give less than they take from EU funds).
You should find out more!
This leaflet (1 of a series of 12) is a rare chance for people to learn something of -
URL = "https://members.tripod.com/~eurotruth/01.htm"
© TEC 1998