There are too many Little Englanders who'd rather see the pound suffer hyperinflation - which is a reasonably likely outcome of the Brown plan - than see it disappear.

A year from now parity will be a distant curiosity.

Economically the pound should have been eliminated back in the late 90s. It was always a footnote on the NuLab ticklist, because pushing harder for it would have been political suicide.

So 'should' and 'will' are completely different questions. The answer to 'should' is Euro entry is the only thing that can save the UK from double digit inflation and interest rates of 15-20% a year or two from now. I'm sure the two year requirement could be waived at short notice, on the grounds that the UK won't get another chance to show practical interest in joining any time soon.

But 'will' is still beyond a last resort, politically. It would take food riots and martial law before it could be considered seriously in Whitehall - or at least a plausible threat of same.

I'd be impressed if Brown suggested joining ahead of time, but I'm not expecting that happen. The Tories would be even less likely to suggest it, for obvious reasons.