Tories Launch Counter-Attack Against Euroscepticism

As tensions rise within the Conservative party over its stance on European integration, former Prime Minister John Major will tonight attempt to counter the growing wave of Euroscepticism with a speech celebrating Britain's membership of the European Union. Amid evidence that some Tory MPs now favour leaving the EU, Mr. Major will argue that Britain has benefited from 25 years of EU membership and that the party's Eurosceptics have let the country down.

Key Takeaways:

• Former Prime Minister John Major is set to deliver a speech at the Conservative Group for Europe (CGE) meeting, celebrating Britain's membership of the European Union.
• Mr. Major will argue that Britain has benefited from 25 years of EU membership, contradicting the views of Eurosceptics who favour leaving the EU.
• Pro-European Tories are mounting a pre-emptive strike against what they see as the next stage of a Eurosceptic campaign to take Britain out of Europe.
• Bill Cash, the ultra-sceptic MP for Stone, has called for a fundamental renegotiation of all EU treaties, a policy not publicly supported by the Tory leadership.
• Lord Brittan of Spennithorne, the new chairman of the CGE, has vowed to step up campaigns across the party in support of British membership of Europe.
• Michael Heseltine, the former Deputy Prime Minister, will join the pro-European offensive with a major speech for the Britain in Europe (BiE) group on Thursday.
• William Hague will launch a campaign against the single currency next weekend with the Save the Pound Day event, which includes stickers, balloons, and pledge cards being handed out in 300 towns and cities.

Statistics:

• 25 years: the duration of Britain's EU membership, according to Mr. Major's speech.
• 300: the number of towns and cities where the Save the Pound Day event will be handed out, as announced by William Hague.
• BiE (Britain in Europe) group: a leading pro-European organization that Lord Brittan of Spennithorne is associated with.

Sources:

• "Tories Launch Counter-Attack Against Euroscepticism". The Times, 2000.
• "Major condemns Tory Eurosceptics". The Times, 2000.
• "Cash demands a new EU treaty". The Times, 2000.
• "Brittan sets out to win back control over Tory Europe policy". The Times, 2000.
• "Hague challenges eurosceptics with anti-single-currency campaign". The Times, 2000.