The case for the UK shedding sterling and adopting the euro has never been clearer.

From a conventional macro­economic perspective, there is no reasonable argument for a small, highly open economy such as Britain’s to retain monetary independence. For economies with a high degree of international financial integration, the exchange rate does not act as a buffer against asymmetric shocks, permitting an easier adjustment of international relative prices than under an irrevocably fixed exchange rate. Instead it becomes a source of unnecessary noise and volatility.