Articles and Speeches

The Euro
23-Jun-99, Advantage Britain Conference, Queen Elizabeth II Centre.

"My name is Adam Afriyie

I am delighted to be running one of the UK’s leading technology service companies, from here, in London.

That company is Connect.

I am equally delighted to be chairman of Business for Sterling, London

I’ll tell you why.

I, and my entrepreneurial and business colleagues here in London, have been working incredibly hard, since the crazy days of ERM membership, ridiculously inappropriate interest rates and the economic recession of the early nineties.

A lot of people learnt a lot of hard lessons.

And yet the British entrepreneurial spirit lives on

We have so many success stories.

In my own company, Connect, we’ve seen several years of solid and profitable growth.

We’ve provided work for nearly 100 additional people.

If I look around this audience I see many, many more successful London based stories.

We have the Covent Garden Soup Company,

we have Pizza Express, and

we have Fullers Brewery, to name but three.

Our British businesses have helped to lead Europe out of recession,

we are leading Europe now, and

I believe that we can continue to lead Europe in the future.

In addition to entrepreneurial spirit, there’s one main reason for this lead

The business and economic environment in the UK, has been conducive to entrepreneurial activity.

We’ve had interest rates and policies that have been broadly appropriate for our local British economy.

So I am excited about London, but I am worried about London.

I am excited because London is a such a great city.

London entrepreneurs are working,

London Business is working and

the people of London, Londoners, are working.

I am worried about London because,

I fear, that if we abolish our currency and join this Euro on an emotive whim, we may blow it.

BRITAIN IS WORKING,

LONDON IS WORKING,

PEOPLE ARE WORKING

LET’S NOT WRECK IT"

The Author, Adam Afriyie, is Chairman of Business for Sterling, London region.