| Topic: | Re:Re:Ken Clarke - votewinner or voteloser ? | |
| Posted by: | David Giles | |
| Date/Time: | 04/05/05 18:06:00 |
| Ken Clarke is popular in the country as a whole amongst older voters and he could indeed win votes from Lib Dem and Labour suporters and lots of beer drinkers and fans of hush-puppies and cigars. He did a good job in each of the major Cabinet positions he held and laid the basis for the strong economic position and sound public finances inherited by and now being squandered by Gordon Brown. I suspect Ken Clarke's popular appeal has waned a bit in recent years and that he is largely unknown to people under 30. His close association with the tobacco industry would of course be a gift from heaven to unscrupulous opponents. At one time I felt that Ken Clarke should be leader of the Conservative Party until I realised that he was and is a unrepentant old-fashioned Eurofederalist, prepared, like Tony Blair and Charles Kennedy to put the interests of the European Union ahead of the interests of this country. Ken Clarke had his chance to become leader of the Conservative Party after John Major's resignation. All he had to do was to reassess his position on Europe and go along with the majority view in the Conservative Party in parliament and in the country. Indeed all the opinion polls show that the country as a whole is opposed to Eurofederalism so right now Ken Clarke is out of touch with public opinion on this issue. We can all admire Ken for sticking to his principles but if he had become leader in 1997 or afterwards, the Conservative Party would have split.That is probably the reason why so many Labour and Lib Dem supporters have always been so keen to have Ken Clarke as leader of the Conservative Party ! |