THE Government's "wait and see" decision on the euro has brought mixed reactions from business leaders and MPs in North and East Yorkshire and York.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which represents 12,500 businesses in the region, said Gordon Brown's announcement that Britain will not join the "eurozone" should be considered final for many years.

Tony Cherry, FSB Yorkshire and Humber policy chairman, said: "The FSB has never felt that joining the euro would benefit the UK economy and welcomes Gordon Brown's announcement.

"The social costs of employment in the UK are still low compared with the EU average. High unemployment and low growth rates across the eurozone do not make an attractive case for the euro."

But major York employer Nestl gave a more lukewarm reaction to yesterday's announcement.

The Swiss-based company's finance director Graham Millar said: "Nestl believes that UK membership of the euro would undoubtedly bring some advantages, such as stability of exchange rate, but we also believe that entry level would need to be set carefully to avoid introducing long-term distortions.

"Joining the euro is a political decision, which should be taken only if it is likely to be beneficial for the country as a whole."

Phil Willis, Harrogate's Liberal Democrat MP, said Britain joining the euro was now a certainty.

But he said much of Mr Brown's speech was "political procrastination" and called on Labour to go further.

He said: "Provided the British economy continues to perform well, it is an inevitability the European economies will pick up. Once that occurs and they start taking greater shares of European business it will become inevitable."

Ryedale Tory MP John Greenway said the euro was only inevitable if the British people voted "yes" in a referendum.

He warned of a possible raid on homeowners to tackle the issue of interest rate convergence.

"He did not rule out capital gains tax, stamp duty or tax rises," Mr Greenway said.

Greg Knight, Tory MP for East Yorkshire, dismissed the announcement as "deliberately misleading".

He said: "It is being presented purely as an economic decision when it is a political decision.

"That is why personally I am opposed to Britain joining the euro. It means a single Chancellor of the Exchequer and ultimately a single government."

Meanwhile, York Green Party councillor Mark Hill has committed the Yorkshire Green Party to an anti-euro campaign for the 2004 European Parliamentary elections.

"We oppose Britain joining the euro which would damage public services in the most depressed parts of the region," Coun Hill said.

Updated: 10:22 Tuesday, June 10, 2003