The dye has been cast for another Conservative showdown on the European single currency, with Europhiles and Euro-sceptics drawing lines to battle it out with their leader, Mr William Hague.
The snap ballot announced by Mr Hague on Monday is not just about clarifying party policy on the single currency, however, but an attempt to snuff out opposition from Europhiles. Just as important, it is certain to become an issue of his party leadership.
A fiery Mr Hague said yesterday his party was prepared to "stick up" for those who were worried about monetary union. "They need a political party to stick up for them. They're going to get it in my party." He promised that nobody would be expelled if they failed to toe the party line.
While members of the shadow cabinet assembled yesterday in a hotel in Buckinghamshire for a two-day meeting, described as a "brain-storming session" by Tory headquarters, the hawks had already begun picking at Mr Hague. He had called the ballot to outmanoeuvre pro-European figures in the party, such as the former chancellor, Mr Kenneth Clarke, and the former deputy prime minister, Mr Michael Heseltine, who had already denounced the policy to oppose monetary union for at least the next 10 years. Others soon joined the fray.
The former Tory prime minister, Mr Edward Heath, denounced the idea of a ballot of up to 330,000 party members as "nonsensical", pondering whether Mr Hague intended the party to "do nothing" for the next two elections. The party leader's other rival in the pro-Euro camp, Mr Stephen Dorrell, also denounced the ballot.
The former governor of Hong Kong, Mr Chris Patten, warned Mr Hague that the ballot would not end division on monetary union because figures such as Mr Clarke and Mr Heseltine would not be silenced.
The British Prime Minister's honeymoon with the electorate could be at an end, according to an opinion poll for today's edition of the Guardian. Only 42 per cent consider Mr Blair tough enough to manage the country, down 15 points from a year ago.