British " Euro-sceptic " says Clarke should resign .
LONDON 1996-12-06
A " Euro-sceptic " member of the ruling Conservative party said on Thursday British finance minister Kenneth Clarke had to resign to prevent the party disintegrating over the issue of a single European currency .
Member of Parliament Tony Marlow said the resignation of the chancellor of the exchequer was the only way to make the Conservatives electable in a general election which must take place by May next year .
" We have a divided and split Cabinet .
This cannot endure , " Marlow told BBC television 's Newsnight programme on Thursday . "
It is not sustainable .
Kenneth Clarke has to go .
If he does n't resign , the prime minister has got to fire him . "
Marlow 's comment come on the heels of speculation that Clarke had threatened to resign if the government changed its " wait and see " policy on a single currency and declared it would not sign up for the currency in the next Parliament .
Clarke denied on Thursday he had threatened to resign and said his position on the single currency was in tune with that of Prime Minister John Major .
Major told parliament on Thursday he would keep his options open on single-currency membership .
His statement was interpreted as a significant victory for Clarke and fellow pro-European Michael Heseltine , deputy prime minister .
Pro-European Conservative MP Edwina Currie told the BBC that if Clarke resigned , other ministers would go with him .