EIGHTEEN years after “Black Wednesday”, it appears the Conservatives have still not learned the lessons of sterling’s humiliating crash that momentous day.

David Cameron’s party have now launched a scare campaign to woo voters, warning them the price for failing to do so will be “economic meltdown” at the hands of international finance. The pound will plummet, making it impossible for the Government to fund its record £178bn borrowing spree and threatening us all with a Greek-style meltdown, the Tories predict.

Mr Cameron went further, claiming it was the nation’s “patriotic duty” to remove Gordon Brown, provoking a witty response from Nick Clegg.

“It's like a protection racket. Vote for us, or our friends in the City will lay waste to your economy, your savings and your job,” the Liberal Democrat leader protested.

I would not argue with that, but this macho vision of a strong pound under iron Conservative leadership is offensive for an entirely different reason – namely, that it would be a disaster for manufacturing in the North.

Only weeks ago, the Tories were rightly attacking the loss of one million-plus manufacturing jobs under Labour, claiming the destruction was even greater than that wreaked by Margaret Thatcher. Yet they fail to recognise the main reason for this hollowing out of Britain’s industrial base – the fact that the pound was hideously overvalued for so long.

Of course, Gordon Brown is guilty of ignoring the consequences for exports of an over-mighty sterling for the decade he was cuddling up to Big Finance in the City of London.