Conservative Party William Hague biography - Conservative Party Pitt the Younger - Britannia Online

Tory Boy grows up to be the Best Man
Loyal colleagues are ready to reap the rewards

WILLIAM Hague became the youngest Tory leader for more than 200 years after a 22-vote victory over Kenneth Clarke in the final round of the leadership contest yesterday. He promised to heal party divisions and lead it on the "long hard grind" back to power.

Mr Clarke, the former chancellor, immediately announced that he would be returning to the backbenches and would not seek a post in Mr Hague's shadow cabinet. The margin of victory - by 92 votes to 70 - was bigger than expected. It was seen as a clear sign that the Tory party is broadly Euro-sceptic and will go into the next election ruling out membership of a single currency.

It gave Mr Hague, 36, a convincing mandate for the radical overhaul of the party needed if the Conservatives are to recover from their worst electoral setback this century. Addressing Tories immediately after the result was announced, he vowed to transform them into the same type of modern, fighting political machine that Tony Blair had made "new" Labour.

But he warned MPs that there would be no room for "slackers" or "bellyaching" and that their job would be to hound the Government "day in, day out".

From early afternoon it became clear that it was going badly wrong for Mr Clarke - who won the first two rounds - and that his supporters were not turning out in the expected numbers. His surprise alliance with John Redwood, the arch Euro-sceptic, appeared to have backfired badly, denting Mr Clarke's credibility.

Although a close finish had been forecast, Mr Hague clearly secured the bulk of Mr Redwood's supporters and a number of MPs previously committed to Mr Clarke. Mr Hague's vote went up by 30 while Mr Clarke gained only six on Tuesday's second round.

Mr Hague is the party's youngest leader since 24-year-old Pitt the Younger in 1783. He is eight years younger than Mr Blair - who is the youngest Prime Minister since 1812.

Mr Clarke - who was a surprise guest at Mr Hague's champagne celebration party - offered his "unstinting and loyal support" but said he had taken a decision before the contest to return to the backbenches if he did not win.

He said it was time for the party to unite and fight Labour, adding: "I am sure William is going to be one of the successful prime ministers of this century and is going to get us back on course for Conservative government."

John Major, addressing a meeting at party headquarters to confirm Mr Hague as leader, said the party had decisively passed the leadership to a "new generation". He described his successor as "the most outstanding young political talent in our country today".

Mr Hague had been ready to offer Mr Clarke a senior post but there was a sense of relief among his supporters that the former chancellor had decided to return to the backbenches. Peter Lilley is likely to be offered the post of shadow chancellor and Michael Howard the job as shadow foreign secretary. Both pulled out of the leadership contest after trailing Mr Redwood in the first round and threw their weight behind Mr Hague.

A leading Hague aide said Mr Clarke's decision provided the opportunity for a "fresh start" under the new leader - particularly as the closing stages of the campaign had seen acrimonious exchanges.

The Clarke supporters were furious about a handwritten note sent out by Mr Hague to all MPs yesterday, which included highly-critical press comment on Mr Clarke's controversial pact with Mr Redwood.

Mr Clarke was also highly critical yesterday of Mr Hague's insistence that all members of his shadow cabinet should observe collective responsibility and accept his decision to rule out a single currency for 10 years.

Mr Hague reffirmed that he intended to impose a new sense of discipline in the party and to end the bickering and in-fighting, particularly over Europe, that contributed to the Tories' devastating election defeat. He said that while he did not want to gag debate, once a decision had been reached he would expect the whole party to fall in behind it.

"The days of disunity, of factions, of wings, of groups within groups, parties within parties must now come to an end. Our supporters in the country are sick and tired of the Conservatives behaving like a school debating society."

Despite their disappointment, several leading members of Mr Clarke's campaign team expressed relief that the vote had been decisive. There had been fears that there could have been a tie, or a very close result which would have shown the party split down the middle.

The big loser was John Redwood, whose gamble in backing Mr Clarke failed badly. There was silence from the Redwood camp. A spokesman said there would be no statement from him last night and possibly not today either.

There is a question mark over whether Mr Hague will offer him a front bench place, given the rancour between them in the campaign. Lady Thatcher, who had been determined to do all in her power to stop Mr Clarke becoming leader, said it had been a good day.

"It was a clear, decisive result. That was the important thing. That will enable William Hague to get everyone together with clear policy direction to fashion the sort of policy that gave us a very long period in government which was greatly to the advantage of the people of Britain."

Another senior Tory said Mr Clarke had managed to link "everyone who destroyed our last election campaign".

17 June 1997: Former ministers switch to Hague camp
23 December 1996: Rising Tory star given key poll role

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