MR TONY BLAIR said yesterday he felt sorry for Mr John Major as the Tories tore themselves apart once again over the single European currency. But the Labour leader poured scorn on Mr Major's ability as a party leader, claiming the Tories were "virtually incapable of being led."
Labour's policy on the single currency was the same as the Conservatives, Mr Blair said it would wait and see: But he thought it highly unlikely that Britain would be in the first wave of a single currency: "What is absolutely essential is that that is the position that the entire party puts forward."
Mr Blair was proved wrong. Labour is not without its own Euro rebels, notably the candidate for Llanelli, Mr Denzil Davies. In his personal election address, he says: "Single European currency: Labour has not decided whether to join in the next parliament. I believe we should not." However, challenged about his views yesterday, he said he did not believe he was at odds with Labour EU policy.
Attempting to manoeuvre out of a tight corner on the issue, Mr Davies pointed out that the leadership had yet to make a decision on whether to join the single currency in the first wave or at a later date in the lifetime of the next parliament. The issue was wide open as far as the leadership was concerned, he said.
Adding his criticism to that of Labour, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Mr Paddy Ashdown, said the Tories were "falling apart before our eyes". They had fallen apart over the beef war, he said, and now they were doing the same over the single currency.