Two scenarios for Europe – and how Britain will fare in the aftermath

Britain can relax about the mess the eurozone is in, says Matthew Lynn. Whatever happens, it's a win-win situation for the UK.

The debate is getting more heated by the day. One minute, European Central Bank (ECB) head Mario Draghi is preparing the ground for full-blown quantitative easing (QE) to try and dig the eurozone out of the depression into which it seems to be slipping. The next, a senior official at Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, pops up with a robust defence of thrift and sound money, and dismisses talk of money printing as idle speculation.

One way or another, the debate will eventually be resolved, and the eurozone will be on tenterhooks until it is. Looking over from London, however, we can relax about what is going on in Frankfurt. Why? Because this is a win-win situation for the UK. If the ECB launches QE, much of the money created will spill over into Britain. But if it doesn't, the eurozone will be plunged back into a crisis and money will flee to the closest safe haven, which happens to be us.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.