Early vote on euro ruled out

PRO-EURO campaigners have admitted there is no chance of a referendum on the single currency before the next General Election.

They say plunging public trust in Prime Minister Tony Blair and the damage caused by the Hutton inquiry have scuppered any hope of winning a national vote in the foreseeable future.

Two months ago, Chancellor Gordon Brown claimed his five economic tests for euro membership had not yet been met. Most observers accepted that this meant no referendum until the next Parliament.

But a small number of proeuro die-hards clung to the hope that a referendum might still be feasible within the next two years. That lingering hope has been dashed by the David Kelly affair.

The Hutton inquiry into Dr Kelly's death has triggered a crisis of confidence for Blair and his administration. Polls show that public trust in the Labour Government has hit record lows.

It emerged at the weekend that the pro-euro pressure group Britain in Europe is close to collapsing. Its supporters are peeling away, frustrated at the fast disappearing prospect of a single currency referendum.

The group's campaign director Simon Buckby - who has attracted criticism for the movement's inability to swing public opinion - is deeply disillusioned and has announced he will stand down.

Former Labour Minister George Foulkes, a member of Britain in Europe's advisory board, said yesterday that any chance of winning an early poll had disappeared. 'What is important now is that we have a referendum when we think we can win one,' Foulkes said.

This pessimism among pro-euro supporters on the Government benches is also reflected in the Conservatives.

Ian Taylor, a former Tory Minister, said it was unrealistic to consider an early vote. He said that earlier in the summer, supporters were still hanging on to the notion that there could be a referendum in the lifetime of this Parliament. 'Any chance there may have been has gone until the next Parliament,' he added.

When the Chancellor gave his thumbs down to the five economic tests in June, he and Blair insisted that the Government would step up its campaigning effort to prepare the country for a euro referendum. Since then, there has been no discernible activity to fulfil this pledge.

The crisis surrounding the death of Dr Kelly and the row over Iraqi weapons appears to have transfixed the Blair administration.

Normal government seems to have been put on hold while Downing Street pours all its energy into defending Blair, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, and senior aides from charges that they tried to 'sex up' the Iraq weapons dossier last September.

They are also accused of deliberately thrusting Dr Kelly into the public domain shortly before he was found dead.