Yeo resigns from frontbench
Tim Yeo has resigned from the Conservative frontbench in the wake of the party’s general election defeat.
The South Suffolk MP said that he wanted to plan an active role in shaping the party’s future direction – something he felt he could only do when freed from Shadow Cabinet responsibilities.
Nicholas Soames – Shadow Defence Secretary in the last Parliament – also announced that he would be quitting the frontbench.
Mr Soames though denied that he would be running for the leadership and laughed off suggestions that he would challenge for the chairmanship of the influential backbench 1922 committee.
He said he was resigning so he could speak more freely on a range of issues. Mr Soames said: “Now I want to be able to speak about Europe, the environment, a whole series of other issues. In the shadow cabinet you are constrained as to what you can say. Now I want to get on with life on the backbenches.”
Mr Yeo was a minister in John Major’s government and has been a member of the Shadow Cabinet since William Hague was leader, most recently as Shadow Environment and Transport Secretary.
Regarded as being on the modernising wing of the party, Mr Yeo told the Today programme that he now wanted to “set out what I think the agenda for the Conservative party and its leader to address is.”
Mr Yeo is likely to be one of the favourites to take over from Michael Howard, but he is yet to confirm whether he will stand.
In the election aftermath Mr Yeo was critical of the tone of the Conservative’s campaign saying that it ran a “core-vote” campaign, and must now broaden its appeal to stand any chance of getting back into government.
Speaking to Channel Four News he said the party still had a mountain to climb to get back into government.
He claimed that the Conservatives were at the “last chance saloon.”
“If we don’t make the changes that are necessary to make the Conservative Party broader in its appeal, moderate in its tone, and positive in its attitudes, then the question isn’t about winning an election, it is about our continued success as the main opposition party.
“We have to make those changes quickly, otherwise we won’t get back into government.”
Mr Yeo added: “You can never win an election if you just talk to your own core supporters.
“You do it by talking to some of the women voters who have deserted us about childcare concerns and the work-life balance. You talk to younger voters about the environment and you talk to business leaders about how we help make Britain a competitive country again. And so we actually narrowed the base of our support instead of widening it.”
