1997 Conservative Party leadership election

none April 2022 1997 Conservative Party leadership election presidential no 1995 Conservative Party leadership election 1995 2001 Conservative Party leadership election 2001 1997 06 10 1997 06 19 yes Third ballot Second ballot First ballot William Hague MP (3156637603) (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 160x160px William Hague 92 (56.8%) 62 (38.2%) 41 (25.0%) Kenneth Clarke (cropped) (cropped).gif 120 120 160 0 0 160x160px Kenneth Clarke 70 (43.2%) 66 (40.7%) 49 (29.9%) John Redwood official portrait (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 160x160px John Redwood Eliminated 34 (20.9%) 27 (16.5%) Peter Lilley (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 160x160px Peter Lilley Withdrew Withdrew 24 (14.6%) Michael Howard as Home Secretary (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 160x160px Michael Howard Eliminated Eliminated 23 (14.0%) Leader John Major William Hague The 1997 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered when John Major resigned as leader on 2 May 1997, following his party's landslide defeat at the 1997 general election, which ended 18 years of Conservative Government of the United Kingdom.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/leadership/review.shtml The 1997 Conservative Leadership Contest BBC Politics 97 BBC 1997 19 June 2012 Major had been Conservative leader and prime minister since November 1990. Candidates Announced upright|thumb|Clarke (pictured) had led the first two rounds of balloting but lost in the final run-off against Hague. The following candidates announced their intention to stand: Kenneth Clarke William Hague Michael Howard Peter Lilley John Redwood Announced but withdrew Stephen Dorrell – withdrew in favour of Clarke before the ballot. Dorrell had the support of 8 or 9 MPs, some of whom did not transfer their support to Clarke due to his pro-European opinions.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/06/0604/dorrell.shtml Dorrell Pulls Out of Leadership Race BBC Politics 97 BBC 1997 19 June 2012 Declined candidates Michael Heseltine – had been widely expected to contest the leadership but declined to do so following health concerns. Heseltine supported Kenneth Clarke during the contest.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/leadership/clarke.shtml Kenneth Clarke BBC Politics 97 BBC 1997 19 June 2012 Gillian Shephard Not an MP at the time In the months before the general election a number of other prominent Conservatives were talked about as potential leaders; however, several failed to hold their seats in the general election including the following: Ian Lang Michael Portillo Malcolm Rifkind In addition, many had speculated about Chris Patten returning to Westminster (he had lost his seat in the 1992 election) and becoming leader; however, the contest took place before Patten's term of office as Governor of Hong Kong ended. Campaign During the campaign Jeremy Paxman asked Michael Howard whether he had threatened to overrule the former Director General of HM Prison Service Derek Lewis when he was Home Secretary. The question was put 12 times with Howard failing to give a definitive answer.Paxman takes on Howard one last time en-GB BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-27916609 2023-10-22 Results First ballot: 10 June 1997CandidateVotes% Kenneth Clarke 49 29.9 William Hague 41 25.0 John Redwood 27 16.5 Peter Lilley 24 14.6 Michael Howard 23 14.0 Turnout 164 100 Second ballot required Howard was eliminated. He was regarded as a serious contender but had been damaged by the criticisms of Ann Widdecombe (who had served under him at the Home Office) that he had "something of the night about him"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/05/0511/howard.shtml Howard Under Attack by Former Minister BBC Politics 97 BBC 1997 19 June 2012 and by the decision of William Hague, who had originally agreed to support Howard and become Deputy Leader, to stand in his own right. Peter Lilley withdrew voluntarily. He and Howard gave their backing to Hague.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/06/0610/leadership.shtml Lilley and Howard Quit Leadership Race BBC Politics 97 BBC 1997 19 June 2012 Second round Second ballot: 17 June 1997CandidateVotes% Kenneth Clarke 64 39.0 William Hague 62 37.8 John Redwood 38 23.2 Turnout 164 100 Third ballot required Redwood was eliminated. Final round upright|thumb|William Hague won the 1997 Conservative Party leadership election For the final round, Clarke, facing likely defeat by Hague, offered to stand aside in Michael Heseltine's favour. Heseltine was less unpopular with eurosceptics than Clarke, who was seen as the main Conservative Party champion of potential British membership of the planned euro. Heseltine, who had had a stent fitted after an attack of angina the day after the General Election, was tempted by the offer, but declined on medical advice.Michael Heseltine, Life in the Jungle, Hodder & Stoughton, 2000, 0-340-73915-0, pp. 532–4.Clarke 2016, p. 399. Redwood gave his backing to Clarke, an unusual development in that Redwood (eurosceptic) and Clarke (europhile) held opposite views on the main issue of dispute amongst Conservatives.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/leadership/redwood.shtml John Redwood BBC Politics 97 BBC 1997 19 June 2012 In return for the endorsement, it was generally understood that Clarke would name Redwood Shadow Chancellor. This pact backfired, however, and the agreement was seen as so cynical that it drew comparison to the Nazi–Soviet Pact of the late 1930s. It prompted former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to publicly endorse Hague. In the event, most of Redwood's supporters switched to Hague rather than to Clarke. Third ballot: 19 June 1997CandidateVotes% William Hague 90 55.2 Kenneth Clarke 72 44.2 Abstentions 1 0.6 Turnout 163 99.4 William Hague elected Julian Lewis announced that he was the only MP who did not vote and said that he was "not happy to give support to either" candidate, describing the choice in the final round as being "between a consistent strong left-winger and an inconsistent centrist".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6gtc2wTPL4 live Westminster special: The Tory Leadership round three 12 April 2017 David Boothroyd YouTube Aftermath Under William Hague's leadership, the party would fail to make any significant advance at the 2001 general election, netting only a single seat, and he was succeeded by Iain Duncan Smith. In 1998, the system of leadership elections was altered to one where MPs vote in rounds to select a shortlist of two candidates, who are then presented to the mass membership to choose. This system was first used in the 2001 leadership election and a modified form of these rules remains in place today. An incumbent leader can still be ousted by a no confidence vote of Conservative MPs, as was done to Iain Duncan Smith in October 2003. A leader could therefore (in principle) be ousted by MPs despite still enjoying the support of the mass membership. References Books used for references Kenneth Clarke, Kind of Blue, Macmillan, 2016, 1-509-83719-1 Michael Heseltine, Life in the Jungle, Hodder & Stoughton, 2000, 0-340-73915-0 1997 Conservative leadership election Conservative Party leadership election Category:Kenneth Clarke Conservative leadership election