THE highs and lows of political life continue for Sir James Goldsmith's Referendum Party as it begins its first national conference in Brighton, writes Rachel Donnelly from London.
The party meets amid rumours that three of its prospective election candidates are considering "jumping ship" to the rival UK Independence Party.
According to Mr Alan Sked, leader of the UKIP, whose party wants to see a British withdrawal from the EU, the three candidates from Lancashire, Worcestershire and Norfolk told him of their "serious doubts" about the policies of the Referendum Party.
If the rumours are true, it will east further doubt on Sir James's political mettle. This was severely tested yesterday following a public show of forgiveness by the Tories when they welcomed back to the fold a former MP who had defected to the Referendum Party.
On a tour of the Kent constituencies the Home Secretary, Mr Michael Howard, said that once people were aware of the truth behind the Referendum Party "no one will take it seriously". According to Mr Howard, the former MP, Mr Tim Brinton, had realised that Sir James's party "is an absolute nonsense".
Lord McAlpine, the former Conservative Party treasurer and deputy chairman who joined the Referendum Party recently, predicted that the conference was bound to be attended by curious Tory MPs. One of the party's prospective candidates, Sir Alan Walters, said that splitting votes in the general election could bring Labour into power.
Although single issue parties have not traditionally enjoyed success in British elections the Referendum Party is causing a degree of unrest among the mainstream political parties, forcing them to concentrate more keenly on the voter's attitude to the question of European involvement.
The former chairman of the Tory Party, Lord Archer, has predicted that the Referendum Party needs only 1 per cent of the vote to unseat a number of Tory MPs and between 2 per cent and 3 per cent for that number to increase to around 30.
But when Mr Major was asked yesterday if he was concerned by the Referendum Party's announcement that it was putting forward 116 candidates in Tory seats, 20 of them in marginal constituencies, he replied. "No, certainly not. I am not losing sleep over anything.
"They are very much a fringe organisation and those votes will be spread across all the political parties. I frankly don't agree with the assessment it will damage any one particular party."
The estimated attendance for today's party conference is 4,200. The party has said that 50,000 people have registered as members.