Anti-euro group in last-ditch push

Opponents of the euro appealed to Danes yesterday to help to set up a euro-free zone by voting "no" in tomorrow'sreferendum.

Opponents of the euro appealed to Danes yesterday to help to set up a euro-free zone by voting "no" in tomorrow'sreferendum.

"There will be important effects on Sweden and Great Britain," said Holger K Nielson, chairman of the main left-wing party to oppose the single currency, the Socialist People's Party. "If it is a Danish 'no' it will be very difficult for the Swedish government to get Sweden into the euro. It will have a deep impact on Britain, it will create a euro-free zone inside Europe."

With the opinion polls split on the likely outcome and both sides expecting a few thousand votes to sway the result, the "no" campaign sought to shrug off its image as nationalists and anti-Europeans in a last-minute appeal. It also argued that the door remained open to another vote in a few years' time and that rejecting the single currency was consequently the safe vote.

"There is big support for the 'no' side, which does not represent the nationalist and the right-wing tendency in Danish society," Mr Nielson said.

That analysis was rejected by the "yes" side, which has regained its confidence. Henrik Dam Kristensen, the minister responsible for the pro-euro campaign, said: "There will not be another referendum. We make our decision on Thursday." The debate was "moving in the right direction".

Euro opponents held anunchanged lead of 46 per cent to 42 per cent in a Gallup poll issued yesterday while supporters stayed ahead in the Vilstrup poll, with 46 per cent to 43 per cent against. About one in eight Danes eligible to vote has yet to decide.