Prospects of a British euro referendum looked ever more remote Monday as Britons, already reluctant to end their love affair with the pound, woke up to a blaze of negative publicity towards the single currency after the Swedish "no" vote.

The rejection of the euro by Swedish voters in Sunday's referendum was seen as yet another nail in the coffin of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's dream of leading his country into the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

A "yes" vote by Sweden had threatened to leave Britain as the only member of the 15-nation European Union outside the common currency area if Denmark had followed its neighbour in.

"Britain will feel more comfortable outside the euro zone knowing that there are other countries as well that can't quite make up their minds," said Katinka Barysch, economist at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank.

The outcome also underscored the magnitude of the task facing the already demoralised British pro-euro campaign, who -- unlike their Swedish brethren -- cannot count on the support of most of the media and opposition politicians.

Britain's main opposition Conservative Party was quick to seize on the Swedish result, which shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram said showed "no-one can argue any more that the euro is inevitable".

He added: "It is clear that being out of the euro will not leave Britain isolated in Europe. Blair's euro campaign is now severely damaged."

Though the British government insisted that the Swedish verdict would not affect its own position, observers said the likelihood of a British vote seemed increasingly unlikely with Blair in the midst of his worst ever political crisis.

"The chances that the UK would hold an EMU referendum before the next general election -- likely to be in 2005 or 2006 -- seemed low a month ago; they are non-existent now," said Citigroup economist Michael Saunders.

The failure of Sweden's europhiles despite the overwhelming support of business leaders hardly augurs well for the British government's chances of turning around largely hostile public opinion towards the euro.

Unlike elsewhere in Europe where the euro was sold as another step on the road to closer political integration, in Britain, where voters are wary of ceding power to Brussels, the government has made the euro's potential economic benefits the cornerstone of its case for ditching the pound.

Not that it has been extolling the euro's virtues very loudly of late, leaving the British pro-euro campaign floundering since the government's "not yet" verdict in June on whether to adopt the euro based in its five economic tests.

Europhiles suffered a fresh blow Monday as the largely anti-euro British press revelled in the Swedish outcome.

The Sun tabloid newspaper, Britain's most-read daily whose support for Blair in the 1997 election was seen as instrumental in helping Labour emerge from the political wilderness, urged Blair "to reflect long and hard on the common sense of the Swedish voters".

It added: "If he were daft enough to put joining the euro to the vote here, the No would be overwhelming."

Even the pro-euro Financial Times said the Swedish verdict "effectively banishes any prospect of Tony Blair holding a euro referendum in the UK before the next general election" expected by 2006.

And according to the right-wing, euro-sceptic Daily Telegraph, "Deep down, even the most fanatical supporters of the euro must now recognise that (a British referendum) isn't going to happen.

"Their two main contentions -- that the euro is inevitable, and that Britain is too small to go it alone -- have been blown away by Sweden's 'nej'."