Asked whether he would propose Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, Mr Major gave a firm “no”. The Prime Minister, who was last night holding talks with the Dutch Prime Minister, Wim Kok, over Britain’s objections to German plans for a multi-speed Europe, said that there was no “remotely plausible case for leaving”.He traded blows with Mr Blair over the Labour leader’s “conversion” to Mr Major’s views on tackling the problem of beggars on the streets.Mr Blair’s support for “zero tolerance” for petty crime, including aggressive begging, “beggared belief”, he said. The Prime Minister had been attacked by Mr Blair for his “vindictiveness … pettiness and small mindedness” when Mr Major called for similar action in 1994. “Given what I said then and what Labour said of me, I would think Labour’s hypocrisy beggars belief. It is a case of zero detail and zero honesty from them,” he said.The Labour leader’s support for clearing the streets drew fire from groups supporting the homeless. But the Labour leadership appeared satisfied with the coverage given to Mr Blair’s remarks in the Big Issue magazine, underlining his message that Labour will have a hard edge to its social policies.

Mr Blair’s “rebuttal unit”, however, denied the Prime Minister’s charge of hypocrisy, insisting that Mr Blair had called for firm action against “aggressive beggars” in May 1994, but had always insisted that it should be coupled with action to tackle the causes of homelessness.The cross-fire over the issue of beggars on Britain’s streets offered confirmation that the election campaigning could quickly descend into the gutter, particularly after the threat by the publicist Max Clifford to dish more dirt on the Tories.It also led to the spectacle of leading politicians lining up to say whether they gave money to beggars Mr Blair said he did not. Mr Major said he did – millions in taxpayers’ money for hostel beds. The Home Secretary, Michael Howard, said he did not give to beggars. John Prescott, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, said he did not give money to beggars. “I sometimes offer to buy them a cup of tea at King’s Cross Station. I’m not sure they always want to take me up,” he said.Giving an upbeat account of the “sparkling” prospects for the economy, the choice before the British electorate would be between “smiles and tears”, Mr Major said. He denied the Tory election posters – featuring a family shedding a “red tear” – amounted to negative campaigning, but Mr Prescott also carefully distanced Labour from Mr Clifford’s antics.The first Guardian/ICM poll of the year, published today, gives Labour a 17-point lead over the Tories.

Adjusted figures put Labour on 48 per cent, down two points on December, the Tories on 31 per cent, unchanged from last month, and the Liberal Democrats up one point.But the Tories were up four points, to 29 per cent when voters were asked which party had the best economic policy. Labour, at 32 per cent, was down two points, and the Liberal Democrats at 6 per cent, down one point.. More than one-third of the British public no longer wants a monarchy, according to a phone-in poll after a live television debate on the future of the institution. A record 2.6 million viewers called in votes after Carlton Television staged a live programme, Monarchy: The Nation Decides, with 34 per cent of callers saying that they no longer wanted a hereditary head of state. After the show, which at times descended into slanging match, 66 per cent said they wanted the institution to continue.
Regional difference of opinion were evident, with 56 per cent in Scotland voting against the monarchy, Northern Ireland split equally and Welsh viewers marginally in favour, while the audience in England was largely pro-monarchy.Carlton executives extended the time limit for calls after thousands complained they could not get through before the deadline in the biggest telephone poll ever staged in the UK.Steve Clark, Carlton’s head of factual programmes, defended the boisterous and, at times, aggressive debate, asking: “Is the standard of debate in the House of Commons at Question Time any better than that?”The programme consisted of pre-recorded statements from royal experts interspersed with live debate from panellists and reaction from the audience Some of the panellists were furious about the debate. The former Downing Street press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham said it had been “a disgrace”.