My Lords, that is a curious question. I had already made it clear to the noble Earl, Lord Northesk, that the only public statements in recent weeks to which attention ought to be paid have been those made directly by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. That is particularly the case with the article in The Times last Saturday and his speech to the Stock Exchange on Monday. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has responsibility for those matters. It is appropriate that he should make a proper Statement to the elected Chamber of Parliament at a time when he is ready to do so.
Clarification implies that there is an agreed policy.
That is ridiculous. We do not know whether the four convergent criteria are to be exercised. If those criteria were to be exercised, particularly the requirement that the national debt should not be more than 60 per cent. of GDP, very few of the applicants would qualify. Finally, with a situation where our economy is governed by a 7 per cent. My Lords, my noble friend makes some interesting points.