Conservatives in disarray

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JUNE 8. The Conservatives were in disarray today after their devastating election defeat, as recrimination broke out over the way the campaign was run. Fingers were pointed at the party chief, Mr. William Hague, who was criticised for concentrating too much on Europe and asylum even after it became clear that people were more interested in bread-and-butter issues.

The attacks became more uninhibited after Mr. Hague announced his decision to resign taking responsibility for the debacle. Mr. Alan Duncan, a shadow spokesman and one-time confidante of Mr. Hague, said the campaign failed to strike the ``right notes'' by focussing on issues in which voters were not interested. A ``rehashed Thatcherite agenda'' would not do, he warned saying that the party needed to reinvent itself in order to respond to changed social attitudes. The party must get over the ``identity crisis'' and come up with a modern agenda, he said.

There was also criticism in some quarters over getting Mrs. Margaret Thatcher to campaign. One Tory leader was quoted as saying that Mrs. Thatcher damaged the party by her strident anti- Europe remarks which turned it into a one-issue campaign. Even Mr. Michael Portillo, who had defended the campaign yesterday, was less certain today as he called for reflection. Mr. Portillo is among the front-runners for the party leadership to replace Mr. Hague. Others include the shadow Home Secretary, Ms. Ann Widdecombe, the Left-wing pro-European veteran, Mr. Kenneth Clarke, and Mr. Duncan Smith, shadow Defence Secretary.

Surprisingly Mr. Clarke was an immediate favourite to take over the reins of the party, according to a snap opinion poll. Mr. Portillo came a close second, but observers said it was too early to speculate. Mr. Hague in his statement spoke of a change over the ``coming months'' rather than days and there was some speculation that he might be persuaded to stay on if a leadership election threatened party unity. Mr. Hague said he passionately believed in what he had been preaching but it was ``vital for leaders to listen'' (to the people) and therefore he was stepping down to allow the party to choose a leader with a ``larger personal following'' in the country.

This was a reference to the persistent talk that Mr. Hague was not acceptable to a large number of even those voters who would have liked to vote Tory. His personal ratings were consistently low and he was described as a liability to the party. Amid the blame-game, there were mandatory tributes to Mr. Hague with even his known critics describing him as an ``honest and straightforward'' person whom the party would miss. The Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, said while he profoundly disagreed with some of his ideas, he respected him for his resilience and wished him well.

The scale of the defeat left the Tories dazed and there were calls for serious self-introspection as why a ``party of natural governance'' had come to such a pass. A lot of bloodletting seemed imminent.

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