SHOPS, businesses and tourist attractions across the county have been urged to switch to the euro despite the Government’s announcement that the country is not yet ready to join the single currency.

Kent Labour Euro MP Mark Watts insists local businesses would lose out if they did not accept or begin to deal in the currency and adopt a dual-pricing policy.

Mr Watts stressed: “Kent’s proximity to the Euro zone means that it makes business sense to accept the euro now. Unless we become Euro-friendly, we will lose out. Kent should become the most Euro-friendly county in Britain."

Predictably, other politicians were distinctly cool about the Government’s announcement. Shadow chancellor and Folkestone and Hythe MP Michael Howard delivered a withering assault on the Government after Gordon Brown said Britain would not be joining the euro – for now.

He said: “This whole exercise has been an exercise in deceit. The deceit that they [the Government] has the national economic interest at heart, the deceit that they want an objective assessment of what this country needs, the deceit that they are united,"

He argued the government had substituted a policy of "prepare and decide" with one of "hope and pray" and said the continued dithering was adding to uncertainty.

Nigel Farage, the Kent UK Independence Party MEP, was equally scathing. He said: "This was 1,700 pages of mass confusion designed to put a whole series of spurious economic points while missing the simple argument about the euro.

"That is, should we continue to run our economic affairs or be managed by people in Brussels?"

The pro-European Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Huhne said consumers were losing out while Britain remained outside the single currency.

“The Treasury shows Britain is losing trade and investment by being isolated from the euro-area. Consumers are paying higher prices week in and week out.

"And people with mortgages are paying higher interest rates. Overall, each British person would gain some £1,700 a year in due course through euro membership.”

He added: “There is a real cost to delay in holding a referendum, but if the Government now moves to tackle obstacles this will be a big step forward for the euro campaign. There is still the possibility of a referendum in this parliament."