THE one issue guaranteed to bring out the worst in a politician is British membership of the euro. Bitter internal feuding in John Major's Conservative Government made him a virtual lame duck Prime Minister.

Knives were planted in backs and a more unified Labour Party was duly swept to power in 1997.

Labour suffered its own euro scares during its first term in office, as the Prime Minister and Chancellor squabbled over the timing of a referendum on Britain joining the single currency.

(Most memorable was Gordon Brown's spin doctor, Charlie Whelan, informing Downing Street of a policy change via a mobile phone from the back of the Red Lion pub.)

But Tony Blair and Mr Brown were always safe in the knowledge they could fudge the issue until after they had secured an historic second term in power.

As a result, backbiting and betrayal was kept to a minimum. Now, however, the issue looms large on the political landscape.

Most of our European Union friends are already happily trading in euros and it will soon be time for Mr Brown to show his hand on when the referendum will take place.

This has prompted around 30 Labour MPs to pick up the Tory baton of Euro grumbling and griping. They clearly mean business, too. They have given themselves a name - Labour Against the Euro or LATE - and are trying to put the frighteners on their colleagues.

Two of those on the receiving end are North Yorkshire's Lawrie Quinn and John Grogan.

If the Government campaigns to join the Euro before the next General Election they are dead men walking, according to LATE.

The Tories - who have now taken a vow of silence on the euro - would snatch their seats and the Government would lose its overall majority.

The method behind LATE's prediction is dubious, to say the least.

A poll was carried out of 500 Labour voters which found that only 22 per cent want to join the euro in this Parliament.

A total of 20 per cent said they would be less likely to support the party if the Government made clear it wanted to join the euro.

Three per cent would not bother to vote, eight per cent said they would consider voting Liberal Democrat and six per cent would switch to the Conservatives.

LATE has subsequently worked out which MPs would lose their seats if a fifth of their support drained away and produced a list including Selby's Mr Grogan and Scarborough and Whitby's Mr Quinn.

Mr Grogan, whose 2,138 majority places him close to the top of the hit list, is philosophical. He said: "In my position, I live every day with my head under the political guillotine. Every lobby group in the world tells me I am a goner unless I back their cause.

"Lawrie (who has a majority of 3,585) is positively in a stronghold by comparison."

Mr Grogan says LATE - which is made up of familiar left-wing faces - may have a point, though.

"We must be phlegmatic about these things," he says. "I do detect it will be a real issue and we will have to make a real effort to convince people of the benefits of joining.

"I remember when I was campaigning before the 1997 election and had the Labour candidate who stood in my constituency in 1945 with me.

"One of the questions I was asked was would I stand up to the Germans. It was the same for me in 1997 as it was for him straight after the war!"

Updated: 10:58 Friday, April 19, 2002