Tories resigned to poll defeat?

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, DEC. 3. The gloom in Tory circles has deepened after a senior party leader virtually ruled out a Conservative recovery ahead of next year's general elections. The Shadow International Development Minister, Mr. Gary Streeter added to the defeatist sentiment in the party saying it was ``obvious'' that the Tories were struggling to find their voice and ``maybe we won't quite complete the task in time'' for the May elections.

Mr. Streeter's comment came a day after an opinion poll showed the Tories falling further behind the Labour in popular ratings, and coincides with a crisis leadership in the party. He echoed the concern over the state of the party saying: ``I think one of the problems is that we're in a period of transition. Some of our big beasts are retiring and a lot of younger people are coming through but people have not heard of them yet, so that will take a while.'' His statement in a T.V. interview confirmed the widespread view that most Tory leaders were not public figures, and voters had difficulty putting a face on many of the Tory leading lights. He also acknowledged that the party should be seen to be more responsive to the concerns of the poor. ``I long for us to be thought of now as the party of the poor that we are the voice for the people who have nothing, because we are going to come up with radical policies to penetrate some of our inner city problems....,'' he said, admitting that the party had not been able to come to terms with the demands of the ``21st century conservatism.''

Mr. Streeter's remarks are seen as reflecting the general concern in the party that its chief, Mr. William Hague has not been able to focus on issues which affect people's everyday life and has instead focussed on ``bigger'' issues such as Europe-related controversies which leave the man on the street rather cold. The outcome of the three recent Parliamentary by- elections, all of which the Tories lost, has raised serious questions about the party's election strategy under Mr. Hague and led to calls for a ``rethink.''

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Section  : International
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