Parliaments can last five years, often last four and a bit. Which he did not. As if the Mail would have allowed it to reside anywhere else. Two days later, the day before Blair's intervention, Byers said the benefits of British membership of the single currency were obvious. The prime minister was saying no more than that the five economic tests would be assessed within two years, but it was immediately pointed out that the decision to join the euro required more than passing the economic tests.
Monetary policy lies at the core of what it is to be self-governing.
Mr Blair does not see the importance of the constitutional dimension. He will not be trusted until he does. The Sun said the prime minister had handed the Tories a gift. Blair clearly thinks he can turn the country round. The Financial Times called on Blair to show that he intended the answer to the euro question to be yes.