Redwood: How can policymakers solve the eurozone problem?

Impact of eurozone 'solutions'

John Redwood, chairman of the investment committee at Charles Stanley Pan Asset, explores the origins of major strains on the single currency and the steps needed to put it back on the right track.

In 1997, I wrote a book that set out the case against the UK joining the euro. I concentrated on arguments about why the UK, with its embedded domestic democratic tradition, its large exposure to global overseas trade, and the strong dollar and transatlantic influences, was different and would not fit in. The more I studied the other economies, the more obvious it became that many of them would also find it difficult - for different reasons -to stay within the disciplines of the single currency. For example, Spain, Italy, Greece (and others) were unlikely to meet the strict entry require...