Why Britons must run Britain

IN MARCH 1961, when I won an undergraduate place at Oxford, my idealism and belief in Europe and the Common Market knew no bounds. I was particularly driven by "the end to war in Europe" arguments. I spent a month hitchhiking round France, taking a copy of the Treaty of Rome in my rucksack. I have now become a supporter of British departure from the EU - a 50-year journey from europhile to "leaver".

As the Common Market took wing and Britain eventually joined in 1973, all seemed well. After the 1991 Maastricht conference decided the path to a single currency, doubts crept in. With the transformation of the Community into the EU came an increased political dimension.

Having spent my early career in the eurobond market (a classic example of London's innovation and opportunism), I saw practical problems. Surely political union should precede a common currency? Were Europe's economies not too diverse? Where was the mechanism for resource transfer between regions?