Blair and Brown sideshow in debate

WESTMINSTER was thick with intrigue this past week. All eyes will be on June 9, the day Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown will make his long-foregone conclusion that Britain is not ready to join the euro because the five economic tests he has set have not been met. 

What was extraordinary was the joint statement he made with Prime Minister Tony Blair that both of them were united on the euro, arguably the most contentious issue in the country.