The government has made a concerted push to stake its claim to be the "patriotic party".

Minister Michael Wills has been given the job of convincing voters that Labour will protect British interests. The government will argue that attacks on the EU are unpatriotic because they run counter to Britain's interests. The Independent reports that Tony Blair will also claim that he wants to "sound the death-knell of the European superstate" in an attempt to demonstrate that he is not selling out Britain's national interest.

Meanwhile, foreign secretary Robin Cook welcomed a Mori opinion poll in the Mail on Sunday, which showed 55 per cent of people backing the new European Rapid Reaction Force and 38 per cent opposing it, as evidence that Labour was winning the argument.