Some 71 per cent of people are against entering the European single currency, with only 23 per cent in favour, an ICM survey found.
Respondents were also largely unswayed by the falling value of sterling against the euro, which has almost achieved parity with the pound.
Some believe the euro could even become worth more than the pound, given the forecast for further steep cuts in UK interest rates.
But the poll found that 69 per cent of people felt such changes made no difference to whether Britain should join the single currency and 14 per cent said it made them less inclined.
Only 15 per cent said that the pound's fall made them more keen on ditching sterling for the euro.
The pound's troubles have been compounded by recent economic figures suggesting the Bank of England will have to pull out all the stops to prevent a deep and prolonged recession.
The pound's weakness is also linked closely to the UK's public finances and debt levels, which have been deteriorating rapidly as the country sinks into recession. The situation has prompted speculation that now is the time for the UK to adopt the currency.
Last month, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said the UK was "closer than ever" to joining the euro.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said the government maintained the long-term policy objective of taking the UK into the euro, though he insisted: "It's not for now."
Others argue that only by retaining the pound can the UK be in charge of its economic future. Dr John Whittaker, UK Independence Party MEP for the north west and an economist at Lancaster University, said: "It might be the euro's 10th birthday but we would be crazy to join the party. The credit crunch has now exposed its real weakness. While all economies are suffering, some eurozone countries are now in an impossible position. What these countries need is lower interest rates and devaluation but, stuck in the euro, there is nothing they can do."
The euro's 10th birthday yesterday was marked by Ukip protesters burning the currency outside the Bank of England.
When the euro was launched 10 years ago it became the official currency for 11 member states of the EU.
It began trading on January 4 1999, at just 71p against the pound and has since traded at an average of 67p against the pound.
The euro hit an all-time low against the pound of 57p in May 2000 but recovered to reach this week's record high.
Slovakia became the latest member of the euro area yesterday, taking the number of countries where it is official currency to 16.
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midway, Ostsee (02/01/2009 at 07:53)
Chris (02/01/2009 at 09:38)
What does concern me is that when newspapers articles start off by saying "Most Voters". This is quite scary because most voters do not have a clue what they are talking about and don't understand the issues. Emotions come into play. We won the war and all that.
Lets leave it to the economists and not the ignorant masses.
nyb nyb (02/01/2009 at 17:07)
andanotherthing, Mcr (02/01/2009 at 21:06)
Chris (03/01/2009 at 09:12)
Whether we like it or not we are part of Europe and an influencial partner at that. Can we really sit on the outside hoping that everything will be hunky dory or do we stay in and retain our influence.
The currecy issue should be seperated from the political union debate.
It is an absolute nightmare trying to run a business with the currency fluctuations that we are seeing at the moment. After the Pound/Euro issue is resolved the next debate will be whether or not the Euro/Yen and Dollar should be linked. We are whether we like it or not headed towards one world currency.
nyb nyb (03/01/2009 at 13:29)
Chris (04/01/2009 at 09:54)
Countries that are at the bottom of their cycle are moving away (or already have)from their own currencies. The reason for this is that their currencies are worthless.
The worst one of the bunch is probably Zimbabwe where so called hard currency is king and every business or shop (all the way down to street hawkers) sells in $US Rands Euros or Sterling. This applies in three quarters of the third world.
The pound has recently lost value to the dollar and Euro. There isn,t a decent shop in London that doesn't accept Euros or dollars.
Since Portugal went onto the Euro it has stopped being a third world country in Europe.
Whether we like it or not we are already there and all that remains is to overcome the emotional debate dot the i's and cross the t's and make sure that the Queens head appears on the British issued Euro.
Black Flag (04/01/2009 at 18:04)
Which is why joining the Euro now would be an even worse idea than it normally would be. We would have to convert sterling to Euros at a poor rate, so we'd see the value of our money permanently wiped out.
"The currecy issue should be seperated from the political union debate."
It can't be, because, if we were to adopt the euro, it would become extremely difficult to leave the EU.
citycentre, manchester (05/01/2009 at 15:55)
allowing the value of currency to fall during hard times is a main reason for keeping it; making imported goods more expensive so increasing sales of home produced ones, and making exporting easier as prices fall overseas;
Viewer of Life, Stockport (05/01/2009 at 16:22)