[5][6] Stevens later said that they had intended to push Ken Clarke, Michael Heseltine, Chris Patten and other pro-Europeans in the Conservative Party into "an SDP-style breakaway, in combination with the Liberal Democrats".

[10] At the time the British pound was strong against the euro, which had dropped in value to be equal to the US dollar, and the then-Governor of the Bank of England Eddie George said that it would be "an act of faith" for Britain to join the Eurozone.

[15][16] A MORI opinion poll of 1911 people, published on 16 February 1999, suggested that a new pro-EU conservative party could possibly win 11% of the vote.

[19] After William Hague ruled out Britain joining the euro under a Conservative government, former cabinet minister Lord Gilmour of Craigmillar said he would vote for the PECP.

[34] The PECP disbanded in December 2001, expressing disappointment at failing to persuade pro-European "grandees" to leave the Conservative Party and cooperate with the Liberal Democrats.

He was one of approximately 20 supporters who joined the Liberal Democrats and urged the remainder of the party's claimed 500 members to follow suit.