Eurozone

Peter Bone Excerpts

Monday 10th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

That was quite a sweep of history. Of course, Britain has always sought to maintain the balance of power in Europe and one could argue that the enlargement policy was quite a successful extension of that policy, but the decision has already been taken with the monetary union and we have to make it work because we would be directly impacted by its failure.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Is not the euro like the parrot in the Monty Python sketch—dead, extinguished, without life—and is not the German Chancellor like the shopkeeper in saying that it is actually healthy and that we really must buy it? Should not the Chancellor be like John Cleese and say, “This is dead and we should bury it”?

[Mr Osborne]

I think the parrot was a Norwegian blue, and Norway is not in the euro.