QUEEN FOR A DAY:

Tory talent contest gives youth a shot at leadership (Philip Webster and David Charter, 5/11/05, Times of London)

MICHAEL HOWARD paved the way yesterday for a six-month Tory beauty contest by giving all his potential successors, and especially the younger ones, a chance to shine in senior posts before he leaves the stage.

Mr Howard surprised Westminster by making George Osborne, aged just 33, the new Shadow Chancellor in a stunning promotion. David Cameron, who with Mr Osborne has been billed as a possible leader of the future, was made Shadow Education Secretary.

Alan Duncan, an ultra- moderniser and likely contender, was made Shadow Transport Secretary. The returning Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the Foreign Secretary in the last Conservative Government, was brought straight back as the Shadow Pensions Secretary, opposite David Blunkett.

And Liam Fox, a certain candidate from the Right, was made Shadow Foreign Secretary. Other known contenders such as David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, and Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, stay in their jobs, while Michael Ancram remains deputy leader but moves to Shadow Defence Secretary. [...]

Both Mr Osborne and Mr Cameron have a tough task to convince older members of the Tory parliamentary party that they should get their chance of a run at the leadership this time. They have been derided as members of the so-called Notting Hill Set, a group obsessed with talking and writing about the party’s problems rather than doing anything about them. Mr Davis remains the favourite to take the crown.

Hard to believe they'll use this six months productively, given that they've squandered the last 15 years.

MORE:
Meteoric rise for shadow chancellor, 33: Howard's reshuffle sends a message to Tory party to pick new leader from younger generation (Nicholas Watt, May 11, 2005, The Guardian)

Michael Howard yesterday delivered a clear message to the Conservative party to jump a generation in the search for its next leader when he catapulted two members of the "Notting Hill set" into front-rank shadow cabinet posts.

To the surprise of Conservative MPs, George Osborne, 33, made a meteoric rise when he was handed the pivotal post of shadow chancellor.

In a sign of his determination to stamp his mark on the forthcoming Tory leadership contest, Mr Howard also promoted his former special adviser, David Cameron, 38, to the crucial post of shadow education secretary.

However, last night Mr Howard announced his deadline for his departure as leader, citing Christmas as his exit date in an attempt to settle the debate between Tory factions.

The rise of Mr Osborne, which will be compared to the rapid ascent of John Major, sparked speculation that Mr Howard was marking him out as his preferred choice for Tory leader. Senior Tories pointed out that Mr Howard was determined to give Mr Cameron, another leading member of the Notting Hill set, an equal chance when the party undergoes its sixth leadership contest since 1990.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 11, 2005 12:11 AM