Runners and riders in the Tory leadership stakes - 4th June
THIS is how the contenders for the Tory leadership line up:
KENNETH CLARKE. Stephen Dorrell's baton-passing gives the former Chancellor another boost at a time when he was already clear favourite to top the first ballot next Tuesday. A beer-drinking Left-of-centre figure with pro-Brussels views and breezy honesty on wide range of issues. Colour of vest: deep pink. Price 8-11 fav.
WILLIAM HAGUE. Youngest contender at 36 and known affectionately as "the boy" by his backers. Thought to be John Major's choice until Mr Hague knifed him in a speech. Pulled out of a deal with Michael Howard at the start. Critics claim they know nothing of his real views. Colour of vest: blue and pink stripes. Price: 11-10.
MICHAEL HOWARD. Former Home Secretary was wounded by Commons attack from former deputy Ann Widdecombe. Stern anti-crime record. Skilled despatch box performer. Some claim unprepossessing manner and strange pronunciations would scare voters. Colour of vest: Dark blue. Price 6-1.
PETER LILLEY. Ex-Social Security Secretary with Gillian Shephard as running mate. Deep-thinker whose radical reforms of welfare system were backed by unusual sources. Colour of vest: Slightly paler blue than Howard. Odds 9-2.
JOHN REDWOOD. Former leadership challenger to John Major made much of his status as untainted by failures of Major regime. Support among hard-core Right-wingers but having difficulty branching out into mainstream. Colour of vest: Deep blue. Odds 10-1.
ONE OF the six challengers for the Tory leadership, former Health Secretary Stephen Dorrell, has decided to drop out of the race and throw his support behind Kenneth Clarke. The surprise move, which could be announced as early as this afternoon, will give another big push to the Clarke bandwagon, already rolling fast.
Mr Dorrell, the Evening Standard has learned, contacted Mr Clarke earlier this week to say that he had decided to throw in the towel and was ready to make an alliance.
Sources close to the two say Mr Dorrell has not been promised any specific shadow cabinet job in return for his support. But his switch should guarantee him a prominent place in the team if Mr Clarke wins.
The former Chancellor himself said today that he was "quietly optimistic" as his carefully-paced campaign, after a deliberately slow start, moved into high gear.
This afternoon Mr Clarke was giving his first press conference since the contest began. Tonight he was due to deliver a lecture in memory of another great Tory moderate, Rab Butler, titled Winning The Centre Ground.
Mr Clarke's relentless build-up was causing serious alarm among the other challengers, which will be sharpened by Mr Dorrell's move.
The former Health Secretary had been trailing badly almost from the start, his campaign near silent for the past week or more.
But if he can bring over even a handful of supporters with him, the gain would be important with only the 164 Tory MPs entitled to vote. Mr Clarke's backers were also hopeful that Mr Dorrell's move, adding to the campaign momentum, might persuade more MPs to flake away from other candidates.
One of those others, Michael Howard, was braced for another blow today on top of the attack on his conduct as Home Secretary from the former prisons minister Ann Widdecombe. Another ex-Home Office minister, Charles Wardle, was poised to make an attack in the Commons on Mr Howard's role in the decision not to grant British citizenship to Harrods chief Mohamed Al Fayed.
Another Right-wing challenger, John Redwood, was trailing. That left former Social Services Secretary Peter Lilley and the ex-Welsh Secretary William Hague to slug it out to become Mr Clarke's main challenger.
All the other contenders accept that Mr Clarke already has enough votes in his pocket to lead on the first ballot, next Tuesday.
But they believe he does not have the support to guarantee a lead plus 15 per cent over his nearest rival, the threshold required under the rules for an outright first-round win.
The Right were hoping that Mr Clarke, whom many blame for the Tory disaster in the election because of his pro-Europe stance, would not be able to attract many more votes in the second ballot a week later.
Their hope is that at that point they could rally round a single Right-of-centre candidate and win. But Mr Clarke's mini-coup in securing the support of Mr Dorrell today made that hope look significantly shakier.
Sun, 4 May 1997
As Labour busied itself with turning years of theory into action, shell-shocked senior Conservatives called for a period of calm before plunging into elections for a new leader to replace John Major, who is stepping down.
Former finance minister Kenneth Clarke is the only Conservative to have thrown his hat into the ring so far. Other possible contenders, including former deputy premier Michael Heseltine, right-winger John Redwood and youthful William Hague, are biding their time.
Sir Norman Fowler, a former Conservative Party chairman, blamed disunity over the key issue of European integration for the party's downfall.
"One of the undoubted factors and the reason that we lost the general election was the fact that the party wasn't only reluctant to come together but refused to come together and that was one of the real reasons why we lost," Fowler told BBC radio.
At least 200 Conservatives openly defied Major's "wait-and-see" line on a proposed single European currency during the election campaign. He was forced into a desperate plea to his party not to tie his hands in European Union negotiations he will now never take part in.
No Downing St. for Blairs
The first full day of the new Labour government did not start so well for Blair's publicity-shy wife Cherie.
She was caught on television cameras opening the door of her London home clad only in a nightdress, hair ruffled and without makeup.
The expression on her face as she realized she was greeting not just the milkman but the world's press turned rapidly from mild embarrassment to surprise and then horror as she beat a hurried retreat back inside.
The Blairs spent the new prime minister's first night on the job in their north London home after inspecting 10 Downing Street and finding the prime minister's traditional residence too small for their family. Blair's press office said the family is looking for other options.
Quick Biography
Tom Major was born in May 1879, and he spent much of his childhood in America. When he came back to England, he started his own business making garden ornaments. In 1921, he married Gwen Coates who was then an entertainer.On 29th March 1943 John Major was born, the third child of Tom and Gwen. Gwen was aged 38, and Tom was 65. John Major has limited memories of his early childhood, and he remembers few happy memories. John had a lonely childhood, and his family had very little money available to spend.
In 1955, the Major family moved to Brixton as Tom's health failed. At this time, John entered Rutlish Grammar School, which was another added expense for his parents which they could ill afford.
When John Major left Rutlish he had 6 O-Levels, and this was the end of John's schooling. John first became interested in politics at this time, and started to consider the possiblity of entering the Houses of Parliament as a Member of Parliament.
2 days before John turned 19, Tom died at the age of 83. Before John Major could become an MP, he had to embark on a career, and he choose banking. He was soon promoted and went out to work in Nigeria. It was there, in 1967, that he was involved in a serious car crash where he was severely injured, and his leg is still damaged today.
John Major was also interested in local Government and he decided to become a local councillor in Lambeth. He soon became involved in the Housing Committee where he became the vice-chairman.
John Major didn't look for a political seat in 1970, fearing that he may be turned down. But on the 9th April 1970 John met his future wife, Norma Johnson. Shortly before their wedding, Gwen died.
At the 1974 election, John Major became the P.P.C. for St.Pancras North. It was a Labour safe seat, and John Major inevitably lost.
For the 1979 election, there was a surprise when John Major was selected as the Conservative candidate for the safe Tory seat of Huntingdon. Major beat off competition from men such as Michael Howard and Peter Lilley. Major performed very well in the seat by doubling the existing majority.
After arriving at Westminster, John soon became the P.P.S. to Patrick Mayhew, who is now the Northern Ireland Secretary of State in Major's Government. Major was soon promoted to the Whips Office, and then in September 1985 Thatcher promoted him again within the Whips Office. In September 1985, John Major became a junior Minister at the D.H.S.S..
John Major's hard work at the D.H.S.S. soon paid off when in 1987 he was promoted to the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. John Major has since said that being Chief Secretary was the hardest political job he has ever done, but he still immensely enjoyed the position. Margaret Thatcher started to rely on her young Minister, who had proved himself of the most able in the Cabinet.
John Major works incredibly hard in every job he has, always trying to master his brief however difficult that might be. This inevitably means long hours, and Major often works 18 hours a day, with amazing reserves of energy.
On Monday 24th July 1989, Margaret Thatcher stunned the media by promoting John Major to one of the highest offices of state, the Foreign Secretary. Major hadn't expected any promotion, let alone a promotion as big as this. A survey carried out at the time by the Economist showed that only 2% of the population had even heard of him.
Major wasn't Foreign Secretary for very long. On Thursday 26th October 1989 Nigel Lawson resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Despite efforts by both Major and Thatcher, Lawson wouldn't change his mind. So later that say John Major was made the new Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Chancellor was the position that John Major had always wanted. The Treasury officials liked working with their efficient new Chancellor, and Major started to settle into what he thought would be a long time at the Treasury.
One policy that troubled the Government was Britain's entry into the E.R.M.. Chancellors such as Barber, Healey, Callaghan, Howe, Lawson, Major and later Lamont all argued to join the E.R.M.. However, Thatcher was much less convinced, and it took all of Major's skill to make her change her mind.
But there were problems for the Gvt, and Thatcher was losing control after the poll tax riots, her indecision over Europe and the worsening of the economy. Her period in office finally became seriously undermined when Sir Geoffrey Howe resigned and savaged her in his resignation speech.
This was too much, and Michael Heseltine decided to stand against her in the leadership election. The result shocked everyone when Heseltine gained 152 votes, Thatcher only 204 votes. She resigned.
It was hard for Major's friends and supporters to persuade him to stand for the position of Prime Minister. He didn't want to seem disloyal, and he really wanted to stay as Chancellor as he wasn't sure if he yet had enough experience to be take the top job of Prime Minister.
