THE Conservative Eurosceptic campaign appeared to falter slightly yesterday, as fewer than expected Tory MPs backed demands for a who governs Britain referendum. The consolation for Mr John Major was that the embarrassment for his government was less than had beef forecast.
Mr Bill Cash's Private Member's Bill seeking to force a national vote on Britain's future relationship with Europe received a formal First Reading in the Commons. Ninety five MPs backed the measure (which has no chance of becoming law) with just one Conservative voting against.
But while the short debate again put Conservative divisions over Europe on display, the Tory rebellion against Mr Major's policy failed to garner the loo votes earlier predicted. In the end, 74 Conservatives backed Mr Cash, along with 14 Labour MPs, two Liberal Democrats and five Ulster Unionists.
Despite massive media hype, Mr Cash and his supporters appeared to have gained only eight new recruits since April, when 66 Conservative MPs voted to curtail the powers of the European Court of Justice.
The Cash initiative demanding a referendum on general election day dealing with the issues of Euro federalism and a single currency was itself over shadowed by the MP's admission that his campaign has received funding from Sir James Goldsmith. The billionaire's Referendum Party is threatening to field candidates against Conservative pro-Europeans at the general election. Labour politicians gleefully taunted Mr Major with the suggestion that Sir James was now funding "his own fifth column within the Conservative Party".
The prime minister's embarrassment was compounded by the news that five members of the government and 11 other Tory MPs had joined Sir James on Monday night at a meeting of the Conservative Philosophy Group. At that meeting the former chancellor, Mr Norman Lamont, presented a paper considering the option of British withdrawal from the European Union. Former deputy prime minister Lord (Geoffey) Howe said the mere fact of discussions with Sir James was "the epitome of disloyalty".
Labour MP Mr Chris Mullin teased Mr Major. "Does it strike as you odd that a foreign based billionaire, who has set up hiss own political party and is running candidates against official Conservative candidates, is also funding his own fifth column within the Conservative Party? Do you have any plans to do anything about this extraordinary situation?"
And the Labour leader, Mr Tony Blair, challenged Mr Major to stand up to the Eurosceptics. "If you carry on running from them they will carry on chasing you and the loser will be Britain."
But Mr Major countered by reminding MPs that Mr Blair had first entered the Commons on a platform of British withdrawal. And, while he asserted Sir James Goldsmith was entirely free to field candidates and to spend his money in the process, Mr Major insisted. "But he isn't going to change our policy."
Mr Cash's Bill was a direct challenge to the government's agreed line that the people would be consulted in a referendum, should a future Conservative cabinet decide in favour of joining a single currency.
Agencies add: Britain thwarted four more EU decisions yesterday, bringing to 78 the number of resolutions blocked by London since it launched its obstruction campaign to protest at the EU ban on its beef.
Meanwhile, mad cow disease led to a major row in the French parliament yesterday when the Agriculture Minister, Mr Philippe Vasseur, traded accusations with the Socialist opposition of putting public health at risk.
Riled by heckling from the opposition, Mr Vasseur accused the Socialists of having allowed beef from herds where cases of BSE had been found to be sold in France when they were in government before 1993.