The ruthless politics of the Lisbon treaty

The voice at the other end of the phone is always unfailingly courteous. The suggestion usually newsworthy. The information independently verifiable. So it gets followed up. And another minor victory for Open Europe, the campaign group opposing the European treaty, is chalked up. It may not, ultimately, achieve its aim of a referendum but beware this significant force in British politics.

In the past week alone, it has deeply added to the woes of Nick Clegg by asking Lib Dem MPs to clarify their position on Lisbon in writing, then feeding it to the media, blogs and Tories (preventing some Lib Dems from saying one thing to constituents and doing another in Westminster, as some were trying). It organised the IWantAReferendum campaign, which generated much attention at the start of the week. It has also been simultaneously acting as the unofficial co-ordinator for Labour MPs calling for a referendum, and this morning is holding a press conference with the likes of Frank Field. Last week there was a demo outside Parliament and today yet another report from them has dropped in everyone's in-boxes.

Created out of the victorious campaign against the euro in 2005, Open Europe is run by Neil O'Brien. It is designed to generate impact and stoke division among opponents and sometimes their techniques seem dubious, as this report by injured Liberal Democrats suggests. But often the news cycle has moved on before this gets dwelt on.

Although formally non-partisan, there can be little doubt that their work helps the Conservative cause most. Indeed, Michael Spencer, the multimillionaire Tory Treasurer, is one of the directors, alongside Stuart Wheeler, the betting millionaire. Such campaigns take large amounts of money and it seems to be coming from the Tories. Derek Scott, the former economics adviser to Tony Blair, is also there, no doubt for political balance as well as ballast.

Peter Mandelson once called Open Europe "insidious". If only he knew how they operated he might be impressed.