Yeo backs Clarke for Tory leader
Former Tory cabinet minister Tim Yeo has announced he will not contest the party’s upcoming leadership election.
Instead, the MP for South Suffolk and ex-environment spokesman has thrown his weight behind former Tory chancellor Ken Clarke.
Mr Clarke has yet to announce his intention to succeed leader Michael Howard, who is standing down later this year following the Tories’ disastrous showing in May’s general election.
But earlier this week, Mr Clarke appeared to get the ball rolling, admitting he was wrong in the past to support the single currency.
The apparent volte-face was interpreted as a move to appease the eurosceptic wing within the party and set the scene for a leadership bid.
The self-confessed pro-European labelled the fledgling single currency “a failure” and the EU constitution “effectively dead”.
Now Mr Yeo called on Mr Clarke – who fought leadership elections unsuccessfully twice before in 1997 and 2001 – to announce his candidature “at the earliest opportunity”.
Mr Yeo said 65-year old Mr Clarke offered the Tories the best hope of returning to government.
“In my view unquestionably the most likely person to defeat Labour and to see off the threat from the Liberal Democrats is Ken Clarke,” he said
“He has the popular credibility to take our case to the voters. The economy will be the central issue of this Parliament.”
“Ken is supremely placed to take the argument to Gordon Brown and win – he has done it before and will do it again.”
Meanwhile, Mr Clarke will launch a bid for the leadership next month, according to the Sunday newspapers.
In an interview in the Sunday Times News Review, Mr Clarke claims he is the candidate most feared by Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
“Elections are fought in the centre. My strongest appeal is that I have higher approval ratings than any other contender, higher still among wavering Labour and Liberal Democrat voters. The Lib Dems are terrified of me,” he says.
And he has reportedly told friends he has the “thirst and capacity” to lead the Tories back into power.
But David Davis remains the bookies’ favourite to succeed Mr Howard.
Former deputy leader Michael Heseltine said this week that Mr Clarke and centre-left leadership challenger David Cameron, the Tory education spokesman, would make a “dream” alliance to derail the shadow home secretary’s plans.
But Mr Cameron is said to have ruled out any such alliance.
Former foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind, Liam Fox and David Willetts are among others also seen as possible bidders for the Tory leadership.
Speaking to BBC News 24’s Sunday programme, Dr Fox, current shadow foreign secretary, described the contest as the “longest phoney war in history.”
“It’s still my intention to be part of that leadership contest whenever it comes, but we have got such a long wait for it that the opposition should be concentrating on opposing the Government rather than involving themselves in endless speculation,” he said.
