By Dominic Cummings, Head of Research, Business for Sterling

"The objects for which the company is established are: to carry on business with a view to raising funds, collecting donations and spending funds collected in order to campaign in favour of UK membership of the single currency." - Britain in Europe, Memorandum of Association, Companies House 1999

"If everybody comes on board - I won't mention names - if they come on board and their press advisers suddenly get the wind up and say, 'Don't mention the single currency, just say you're there because you're in favour of Europe', don't believe them." - Ken Clarke 5 October 1999

After the shock of the European elections, the government has taken over the Britain in Europe campaign and changed its professed purpose from campaigning for a Yes vote in a euro referendum, to campaigning to stay in the EU and keeping open an option to join the euro. Their own literature illustrates the transformation.

• Before the European Elections - "The Britain in Europe campaign aims to persuade the British people to support membership of the European single currency in a referendum."

• After the European Elections - "Everyone who supports Britain's membership of the European Union should back the Britain in Europe campaign. We will remind the country how Britain benefits from playing a leading role in Europe, and argue that Britain must have the option of joining a successful single currency."

This attempt to wrap up the question of joining the euro with membership of the EU is dishonest. They have done it because their pro-euro position is unpopular, because they do not wish to engage in debate on the merits of the euro, and as part of their broader political strategy outlined by the prime minister in The Times (11/10/99) "to put the Tories on the far right". By campaigning to defend things that are not under threat, they hope to emasculate all opposition.

The Real Issue is the euro, not EU membership

As Ken Clarke has admitted however, the real issue is whether we join the euro. Business for Sterling is against joining the euro for the foreseeable future and is totally committed to membership of the EU.

• Barclays Capital have recently confirmed BfS' position that the Chancellor should rule out joining the euro in the next Parliament since there is no prospect of the five tests being met by then.

• ICM have established that this is the mainstream view of the majority of business people, trade union members, and the public. Britain in Europe do not speak for them - they speak for the prime minister, political elites, and downsizing multi-nationals.

BfS believes that the euro would bring a return to boom and bust; that it would lead to (indeed, it is intended to lead to) tax and debt harmonisation which would be extremely damaging; that the warnings about the dangers of remaining outside are dishonest scare stories; and that there is no chance of the chancellor's give tests being met in the foreseeable future.

Even one of BiE's principal supporters, Lord Haskins, admitted to the BBC that: "If we came to have a single currency, small businesses who are in domestic trading wouldn't get any benefit out of a single currency." With supporters like that, no wonder BiE is trying to "broaden the debate".

Kenneth Clarke, former Tory chancellor (adapted from an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme):

We are in favour of the single currency and thing it will be to the benefit of this country if, but only if, the economic conditions come right and that for me means if we can join at the right exchange rate, if we have got inflation under control so we can live permanently with lower continental interest rates and so.

That is my position and the prime minister's position. I do not think either of us have changed it.

I think the Conservative debate - which I'm not going to join in today, I am glad to be in an all-party platform to have a debate about the national interest - it is a good think to be reminded that there is not really a good deal dividing us.

I have heard Francis Maude say we could join the single currency if it succeeds.

I think in the modern world with the pace of change that is taking place we should not put an artificial timetable on things.

I do not see why we think the next parliament has this magic situation in which whatever the situation and the national interest we should not join.

All the time I have been in politics, the Conservative Party has been a pro-European party. We signed all the key treaties and I think we have made the country a better, more powerful and more prosperous country as a result.

No sinister federalist plot

But today I am not going to go into that.

Today we are talking about how Britain benefits from Europe, how Britain could benefit from a single currency, if but only if the economic conditions come right.

There is too much talk of sinister plots. I am not part of some sinister federal plot.

Britain in Europe has not been in any disarray.

The prime minister has said the same things about the single currency, so far as I am aware, during the last two years, which to his embarrassment and mine is about the same as I have been saying for the past five years.

We have a pretty lively party political system in this country, but the context has to be in the national interest.

Blair, Heseltine, Kennedy and myself, we think the national interest is to be in Europe and to prepare for the single currency if but only if it is in the British interest to join.