Stronger or weaker?

Given the turmoil in the Eurozone of late (a gift for our unit 4 students) the question arises following the failure to reach an agreement involving the UK, as to whether the UK is in a stronger or a weaker position. What is probably clear is that it was never going to be in the British interest to support the proposed new treaty since it would have meant acceding to the one-size fits all policy that so many of us have eschewed in the past. Being outside the Euro is probably the biggest advantage that the UK has at the moment and the ability to set interest rates and to pursue a monetary and fiscal policy designed to address our issues should not be ignored. This is not to say that we should never join the Euro but certainly we should only do so when it is right for us and that may not be for some time to come. At the moment we are stronger for standing on the sideline and that's something that many observers never thought that hey would say!