THE British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, and the Chancellor, Mr Kenneth Clarke, last night finally brokered a deal intended to put an end to Cabinet wrangling over a single currency referendum. A proposal is expected to go before the Cabinet today when it is all but certain to be rubber stamped.
It appeared last night that the dilemma had been resolved by Mr Major agreeing to put a referendum proposal into the Conservatives' election manifesto, rather than giving it the status of government policy now. That would mean the pledge would offer opponents a chance to head the proposal off in a future parliament.
Last night Downing Street was insisting that the document outlining options prepared by the Foreign Secretary, Mr Malcolm Rifkind, had not been distributed to the whole Cabinet by late afternoon. And one Cabinet source said he did not expect a discussion of the referendum question to take place today.
The continuing confusion had enabled the Labour leader, Mr Tony Blair, to declare at Commons Question Time "We have paralysis."
The Shadow Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, said "This is yet another example of the Prime Minister caving in to the Eurosceptics. Everyone knows this has got nothing to do with the national interest and everything to do with trying to hold together a divided and disgraced political party."
Earlier in the day the controversy had been fanned by the Euro enthusiast Tory backbencher, Sir Julian Critchley. In a letter to the London Times he warned that if the Cabinet plumped for a referendum he would oppose it. With the Tories' majority down to one if the party loses the Staffordshire South East by election, Sir Julian's vote could be enough to defeat the government. He added that if it lost he would then "think hard and long" whether to support it in a vote of confidence that would follow.
As the deal struck over the referendum means only a commitment in the next Tory manifesto, there will be no Commons statement and no opportunity for MPs to put questions to Mr Major or to Mr Rifkind.