The government's pro-euro message isn't getting through to UK voters and public scepticism may benefit the Tories, reveals authoritative research published on Monday.

The recent push by Tony Blair to promote the European single currency still has a long way to go to convince a doubting electorate, with just 16 per cent of population believing that the pound should be replaced by the euro.

And even more worrying for Downing Street is the British Social Attitudes' finding that among Labour and Lib Dem voters a minority of only 42 per cent back membership of the single currency.

The large-scale annual survey of the country's views also shows that for those people switching to the Tories in the June general election Europe was the crucial issue, with 80 per cent opposed to further EU integration, nearly twice the figure of the 41 per cent of voters who didn't switch.

Although the numbers turning from Labour to the Conservatives over Europe was not enough to save William Hague from electoral defeat, the divide may assume a greater political importance as "Yes" and "No" campaigns gear up for a euro-referendum, a poll the research finds "is unlikely to lead to the acceptance of the euro - even among Labour voters".

The report's author, Geoffrey Evans believes the Tories "would do well to pay attention to this research".

"It shows that the public mood is much closer to their stance than to Labour's. If the Conservatives want to open up new areas of competition between the parties, Europe is a good place to start," he said.