...your main objection to joining suggests that the UK economy is in the same boat as that of the PIGS...

I didn't say that at all. Greece has lost 25% of it's economy in 5 years, nearly a third of companies have gone bust since 2008 and they've seen their democratically elected Prime Minister removed by the EU and their nation taken over by three foreign officials.

Spain has youth unemployment at over 50%, the worst private debt record in the developed world and a shockingly high home repossession rate meaning Spanish citizens are jumping off balconies to their deaths every single day.

Italy has to put up 20% of the money to bail Greece out next time, so they themselves will then default in the manner of a Ponzi scheme and there's simply not enough money in Europe to bail Italy out. Italy's also had its democratically elected leader removed by the EU and is now run entirely by a cabinet of unelected technocrats - ie EU puppets.

Ireland interestingly fought for 500 years for their independence and within a relatively short length of time have given it away again by joining the EU and the Euro. Irelands been bailed out once and bailing them out 20 times wouldn't change the fact they're using a currency hopelessly unsuited to their economy and economic cycle.

By comparison the UK isn't in too bad a shape. We've lost 3% of our economy since 2008, not 25%. Yes Sterling has had it's worst fall in recent history but still being in control of our currency is invaluable. May I point out Sterling is still stronger than the Euro.

My objection to joining was/is simple; It cannot be in your national interest to give up control of your currency, as the Euro has proven. The political consensus in 1990 was that Britain should join the ERM - a decision Labour and Lib Dems supported - and they were wrong. Likewise in the late 90s we had Lords, senior politicians, businessmen with knighthoods and the rest of the establishment telling us we should join the Euro.

Thank a higher power we ignored them.

No you may not. A pound bought €1.60 in 2000, now it buys €1.16. A couple of years ago it nearly reached parity.

Right now £1 buys 1.16EUR, so the pound is still stronger, thank you very much. Even if it wasn't it wouldn't change the fact the Euro (apart from for Germany) has been a total disaster for the vast majority of people. Politicians and big investors have done ok, but everybody else has been royally rogered.

This is the euro in 'crisis' by the way, what does that say about the state of the UK economy?

Very little. It says the EU leaders are so pathalogically fanatical about preserving their misguided political dream - which is destroying democracies, lives, businesses and economies all over Europe - that they'll back it with all the money they haven't got to keep it afloat.

It's a bit lame defending a weak pound and then complaining when your petrol goes up a few pence.

The pound didn't experience a massive fall between Friday and Saturday last week, hence my cynical post on here. The problem with fuel prices is the Government. In nominal terms the price of our pre-tax fuel hasn't really changed much in the last 5 years.