High-risk push for Europe vote

Iain Duncan Smith will today embark on a huge Eurosceptic push to demand a referendum on the proposed EU constitution.

The Tories will set out to collect a million signatures on a petition opposing the Government's plans to ratify the constitution without a vote.

The winter offensive will amount to the biggest Tory single-issue campaign since William Hague toured Britain on his "Save the Pound" truck before the last election.

Activists around the country will be urged to join the fight with rallies, street stalls and door-todoor canvassing.

Shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram will tell the Tory conference: "We will fight this damaging European constitution with everything we have. The British people have the right to a say."

The move represents a big risk for Mr Duncan Smith, a staunch Eurosceptic. It will link the Opposition leader with the issue of Europe in voters' minds, after two years in which he has backed away for fear of being seen as extreme.