‘Britain steps up plans for possible Greek exit from EU’
The British finance minister says the UK government is stepping up its contingency plans for a possible Greek exit from the eurozone.
Treasury chief George Osborne said Sunday that his country was preparing for possible market instability that such a move would entail.
“That’s why I’m going tomorrow to the G-20 [Group of 20] to encourage our partners to resolve this crisis. It’s why we’re stepping up the contingency planning here at home,” Osborne told the state-run BBC.
“We have got to make sure we don’t, at this critical time when Britain is also facing a critical choice, add to the instability abroad with instability at home,” he added.
Now Shabbir Razvi, a London-based economic commentator, says the British government is concerned about a Greek “contagion” ahead of the UK’s general elections in May.
It is “not just the fiscal and financial contagion coming out of a Greece exit, but the political contagion,” Razvi told Press TV’s UK Desk on Sunday.
“So, Britain and the ruling party, the Conservative coalition, were hoping to win the elections that are scheduled in May. And what is likely to happen is that the anti-austerity parties, the groups, the individuals in Britain are perhaps likely to vote for those parties that may be demanding a similar kind of approach as the public voted [for] Syriza in Greece,” he added.
Razvi believes a possible Greek exit from the euro area will impact the British economy, causing the UK’s output to shrink by several percentage points.
HRK/GHN
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