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Clarke will join battle for Tory leadership

Paul Waugh,Ben Russell
Tuesday 26 June 2001 00:00 BST
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The former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke will end weeks of speculation by announcing his candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party.

In a move that will throw wide open the contest to succeed William Hague, Mr Clarke will declare himself the candidate with the best chance of beating Tony Blair at the next general election.

The Rushcliffe MP, who met several MPs yesterday to signal his intention to stand, could announce his decision as early as today but may hold back until as late as Thursday.

Mr Clarke's supporters believe he has an excellent chance of joining Michael Portillo as one of the two leading candidates chosen by MPs to go forward for a ballot of the party's 300,000 members.

The Clarke camp hopes that his popularity among the wider public and his substantial experience of high office will give him the edge in a contest that could last until September. As a former health secretary, home secretary, education secretary and Chancellor, he can claim to have expertise on the key issue of public services that will dominate Labour's second term.

However, his critics suggest that his pro-euro views will make Mr Clarke an unsustainable leader of a party whose members and MPs are overwhelmingly against the single currency.

Mr Clarke, who was abroad last week, spent the weekend in his Nottinghamshire constituency refusing to comment on his candidacy, but sources close to him indicated last night that he would indeed stand.

His supporters suggested backers of Michael Ancram would transfer their allegiance in later rounds of the leadership ballot. They also hope several supporters of the right-wingers Iain Duncan Smith and David Davis could come on board.

Mr Portillo's supporters are so worried by the challenge from Mr Clarke that some of them are prepared to back Mr Duncan Smith to prevent their man from facing a run-off against the former Chancellor. Under a "Get Ken" plot, a number of Mr Portillo's backers will switch sides to ensure Mr Clarke does not join Mr Portillo in the ballot of party members.

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