Euro causes a fit of the blues

Date: 17/09/1998

The split between British Conservative Euro MPs and their Eurosceptic leader in London seems wider than ever.

In a letter to the UK's leading establishment newspaper The Times, three Conservative MEPs - Brendan Donnelly, John Stevens and James Moorhouse - openly criticised Tory Party leader William Hague's decision to call a snap ballot of party members to test his belief that the UK should not adopt the euro for at least ten years.

“For 40 years, the Conservative Party advocated a full role for Britain within the European Union ... This rational approach is now at risk,” said the letter. “Given the speed of recent and likely developments concerning the single European currency, it is perverse now to conclude that Britain should wait until the end of the next parliament before even joining it.”

Watch this space for future fireworks.