1997 Conservative Party leadership election

The1997 Conservative Party leadership electionwas triggered whenJohn Majorresigned as leader on 2 May 1997, following his party's landslide defeat at the1997 general election,which ended 18 years of Conservative Government of theUnited Kingdom.Major had been Conservative leader andprime ministersinceNovember 1990.

1997 Conservative Party leadership election

10–19 June 1997(1997-06-10–1997-06-19)

Candidate William Hague Kenneth Clarke John Redwood First ballot 41 (25.0%) 49 (29.9%) 27 (16.5%) Second ballot 62 (38.2%) 66(40.7%) 34 (20.9%) Third ballot 92 (56.7%) 70 (43.2%) Eliminated Candidate Peter Lilley Michael Howard First ballot 24 (14.6%) 23 (14.0%) Second ballot Withdrew Eliminated Third ballot Withdrew Eliminated

Leader before election John Major Elected Leader William Hague

Candidates

Announced

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.

Declined candidates

• Michael Heseltine– had been widely expected to contest the leadership but declined to do so following health concerns. Heseltine supportedKenneth Clarkeduring the contest.

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 aboutChris Pattenreturning to Westminster (he had lost his seat in the1992 election) and becoming leader; however, the contest took place before Patten's term of office asGovernor of Hong Kongended.

Campaign

During the campaignJeremy PaxmanaskedMichael Howardwhether he had threatened to overrule the former Director General ofHM Prison ServiceDerek Lewiswhen he wasHome Secretary.The question was put 12 times with Howard failing to give a definitive answer.

Results

First ballot: 10 June 1997
Candidate		Votes	%
	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 ofAnn Widdecombe(who had served under him at the Home Office) that he had "something of the night about him"and by the decision ofWilliam Hague,who had originally agreed to support Howard and become Deputy Leader, to stand in his own right.

Peter Lilleywithdrew voluntarily. He and Howard gave their backing to Hague.

Second round

Second ballot: 17 June 1997
Candidate		Votes	%
	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

William Haguewon the 1997Conservative Partyleadership 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 plannedeuro.Heseltine, who had had astentfitted after an attack ofanginathe day after the General Election, was tempted by the offer, but declined on medical advice.

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.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 theNazi–Soviet Pactof the late 1930s.It prompted former Conservative Prime MinisterBaroness Thatcherto publicly endorse Hague.In the event, most of Redwood's supporters switched to Hague rather than to Clarke.

Third ballot: 19 June 1997
Candidate		Votes	%
	William Hague	90	55.2
	Kenneth Clarke	72	44.2
	Abstentions	1	0.6
Turnout		163	99.4
William Hague elected

Julian Lewisannounced that he was the only MP who did not vote.

Aftermath

UnderWilliam Hague's leadership, the party would fail to make any significant advance at the2001 general election,netting only a single seat, and he was succeeded byIain 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 the2001 leadership electionand 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.

Books used for references

• Kenneth Clarke,Kind of Blue,Macmillan, 2016,ISBN1-509-83719-1
• Michael Heseltine,Life in the Jungle,Hodder & Stoughton,2000,ISBN0-340-73915-0