William Hague's bid to portray the Tories as a government in waiting was hit last night by fears that the party's simmering internal feud over Europe was about to re-ignite.

The Tory leader arrived in Bournemouth yesterday for the party's annual conference with the boast that there was "all to play for" with the next General Election "wide open".

But his hopes were dented by Tory grandee Michael Heseltine. The former deputy prime minister attacked Mr Hague for ruling out joining the single currency in the next Parliament, and accused him of turning his back on traditional "one-nation" Conservatives.

Mr Heseltine said that it was "ludicrous" that people of the calibre of ex-Chancellor Kenneth Clarke and former minister David Curry were not on the party's frontbench.

These political heavyweights packed a bigger "punch" than many of current Tory shadow ministers.

Mr Heseltine said the likes of Mr Curry would have a broader appeal, adding: "William Hague should base his appeal to the electorate on the classic one-nation Conservatism."

The Tories were also hit by reports that arch-Eurosceptic and North Yorkshire millionaire Paul Sykes was about to bankroll the party's General Election campaign to the tune of £20m, in return for a further hardening of the policy on Europe.

The millionaire yesterday dismissed the claim - but confirmed he would meet senior Tories this week to discuss support for the party he once left over their "soft" policy on Europe.

It also emerged that Mr Sykes had provided about £500,000 to help fund the Danish "No" campaign in last week's referendum on the euro.

However, Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Andrew Lansley insisted: "The Conservative Party does not accept donations with strings attached."

Party chairman Michael Ancram also played down a possible Sykes donation, joking that as Mr Sykes was a Yorkshireman and he was a Scot, "we do not offer large sums of money to each other".

But last night, Mr Curry - Paul Sykes' local MP in the Skipton and Ripon constituency - angrily warned against accepting a huge donation from the millionaire who backed Eurosceptic candidates at the last election.

"Any suggestion that there would be some private deal or understanding would be enormously damaging to the party," he said.

Mr Curry also warned of the dangers of becoming dependent on one main donor. "I would have thought the Tory party - for all the problems of sleaze, real and imagined in the last Parliament - would have to be absolutely clean about fund-raising," he said.

The outspoken Europhile, who quit the frontbench over the party's policy on Europe, also attacked part of the draft Tory manifesto - Believing in Britain - as "unbelievably defensive about Europe".

But Mr Hague insisted there would be no change on the party's policy. "The party has settled its position on Europe and that isn't going to change," he declared as he arrived with his wife, Ffion, in Bournemouth.

The Tory conference, which formally starts later today, was opening against a backdrop of an opinion poll fightback by Tony Blair.

After last week's Labour conference, the Government was back in the lead over the Conservatives by six points according to one survey, and by one point in another poll.

But Mr Hague, MP for Richmond, seized on Scottish Secretary John Reid's admission that the Tories could win the next election.

Mr Hague said: "It's all to play for. It's up to us this week to show we are ready for government and that we will govern in the interests of all the people of this country."

The Tory gathering will hear the result of the ballot of party members on whether to endorse the Believing in Britain document.

And a string of shadow ministers will set out policies in a new-look conference to the backdrop of a hi-tech set underneath the slogan "Believing in Britain".

The usual congratulatory motions from the floor have been scrapped this year, with debate replaced by a series of speeches and question-and-answer sessions.

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