Conservative Party members overwhelmingly if predictably backed William Hague's determination to oppose membership of the European single currency within the lifetime of this or the next Parliament - but even before the result was disclosed party grandees wrecked the Tory leadership's bid to end the party divisions over Europe.

Nearly 85% of those who voted in the ballot, more than 170,000, supported the leadership's strategy of opposition to membership of the European single currency for this Parliament and the next. This represented only 49.6% of the total membership, but the leadership was nonetheless delighted and relieved at the result.

Mr Hague hailed the outcome as ''emphatic and supportive as any leader could ever ask for''. Clearly hoping the result would draw a line under Tory infighting over Europe, he said: ''The party has spoken. By any standards this is a result which demonstrates there is a settled will in the Conservative Party to fight the next election in favour of keeping the pound.''

Now the party leadership will claim that any Tory expounding another view is not speaking on behalf of the party. Implicitly hinting that the Europhiles were so far out on a limb they could fall off the edge of the Conservative Party. Dr Liam Fox, the party's constitutional spokesman called on his Europhile colleagues ''to think long and hard before they marginalised themselves''.

Earlier Michael Heseltine, a former Tory Deputy Prime Minister standing on a Conservative Mainstream platform, called for a more positive and sensible approach towards European economic and monetary union. Distinctly unmoved by entreaties to adopt a more conciliatory attitude to the Eurosceptics Mr Heseltine dismissed the notion that the ballot could put an end to the debate.

Certainly the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth this week is peppered with fringe meetings on Europe immediately undermining Mr Hague's desire ''to move on to speak with certainty on this subject and address other subjects without one hand always tied behind our backs''.

A senior Scottish Tory questioned the leadership's tactics. He said: ''Probably Mr Hague's position on Europe has struck a nerve with most people in the country, but his tactics will only cause deep and sore divisions within the party. Why did he not just wait and say he would do what is best for Britain.''

The staunchly pro-European Liberal Democrats hope to woo Tories disillusioned by their leadership's uncompromising stance. Menzies Campbell, their Foreign Affairs spokesman invited the disaffected to join them.

Scottish Office Minister Helen Liddell said: ''The overwhelming result in favour of ruling out British membership of the single currency, at least until the end of the next Parliament, shows just how far dogmatism drives Conservative Party policy The Conservatives in Bournemouth have now been confirmed as the party of Eurosceptic extremism, as surely as the SNP at Inverness were confirmed as the party of separatist extremism.''