Balls: UK should be leading way on eurozone crisis

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls, speaking in a Guardian interview, criticises the government for not taking a more active role in solving the eurozone crisis:

"At a time when leadership is needed, the UK government should be in Brussels leading the way. I think people will look back at the last few weeks and ask why, when we faced a potential American [debt] crisis and a developing European crisis together with deepening problems in the UK around growth, what happened to UK leadership in this period? Where was the prime minister and chancellor, why weren't they setting the agenda?

"We have a direct interest in getting this call right.

"The British government should not be saying it is a eurozone problem or that we are not in the eurozone so we have no locus. They should be demanding to attend meetings we are not invited to, because this affects the British interest, and saying as a senior European nation that we can act as an honest broker. We should be charting the way."