Clarke announces candidature
Former chancellor Kenneth Clarke hopes to make it third time lucky as he announces his decision to stand for the Conservative party leadership.
A leadership election is due to take place after the Tory party conference later this year. Outgoing leader Michael Howard opted to stand down after the party lost a third general election in a row.
Mr Clarke, a former home secretary, is set to hold counsel with his supporters at Westminster this morning ahead of a key speech on Thursday.
He told the Daily Mail of his determination to govern Britain better than New Labour.
“I am horrified by a government run on a basis of spin. The political health of Britain has deteriorated very sharply,” he said.
“The Conservative party must do something about it, and I am the man to do it.”
Mr Clarke said his party needed a popular leader able to win wide appeal and earn the respect of all sections of British society.
He said he would aspire to develop new policies of “depth and vision” as leader of the opposition.
The political heavyweight was said to be only willing to have a bash at the top Tory job if he believed he had a realistic chance of ousting bookies’ favourite David Davis, the shadow home secretary.
Mr Clarke fought leadership challenges in 1997 and 2001, and was defeated by William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith respectively.
Tory MP Mr Yeo, who has quit the leadership race to back Mr Clarke, told Newsnight last night that his man for the job was perhaps the only person who could genuinely compete with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
“He is the man to lead the Tories because he is the only person we have got who really is a match for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
“He is also someone who will see off the really quite serious challenge form the Liberal Democrats. He combines the qualities of experience, of toughness and of personality in a way that I think makes him the ideal choice.”
Should Mr Clarke win the leadership crown, he would be 70 come the next general election in five years’ time, a fact his detractors are likely to exploit.
Pundits will now look to see if Dr Liam Fox, shadow foreign secretary, David Cameron, shadow education secretary, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former foreign secretary, and David Willetts, shadow trade and industry secretary, will make their leadership intentions known.
Read profiles of the Tory leadership candidates.
