Ken Clarke is back. Will this help the Tories?

[max_tranmere]

I'm not quite sure why David Cameron has done this. Sometimes, when a big player within the Party has made the odd mention of standing for the leadership, as Clarke said on a couple of occasions in recent years, that person is promoted in order to buy them off and stop them standing. John Major did this with Michael Heseletine when Major was the PM. Tony Blair did it with that semi-literate moron John Prescott aswell.

The promotion of Clarke to a frontline position is strange though. His utterings of wanting to stand for the leadership seemed to die down a few years ago. He is also older than most of the Tory front bench, and he is seen as being associated with the Party's disasterous past - just like Michael Howard was.

I remember him having major problems with many people in the Tory party back in the 1990's, back in the days when the Party was totally split on the issue of Europe. His views on Europe were so unpopular with a certain wing of the Party that some people were briefing against him, running a smear campaign against him, and were bad-mouthing him to everyone. At one point Ken Clarke went to the Conservative Whips and said "tell your kids to get their scooters off my lawn!" (his exact words). He wanted it all to stop, and was a bit hacked-off!

Bringing him back will please some, annoy others, be seen as pointless by some potential voters, and be regarded as a step back to the bad old days by others. A mixed bag there. I don't personally think it will help Cameron's chances of winning a general election. What are other people's views?

[number 6]

cLARKE=EDUCATION and health secretary under thatcher,enough said

[Jonone]

Back to the future. Will doubtless appeal to some.

[wayne]

Lets be honest all he does is show what a useless bunch of lightweight idiots they currently have/are.

Im not a tory by any menas but they had a genuine chance to make a real change if elected him.

[johnsix]

It's an admission by 'Call me Dave' that his front bench is full of talentless vegetables. Bringing back a useless plonker like Clarke who was a divisive figure in every department he ever ran and is just a dinosaur with a dinosaurs view.

Why do the papers call him a 'big beast' Do they mean Fat twat ?

[Jonone]

By calling him a 'beast' they want us to think he's strong and virile. Anyone will tell you that beasts tend to be lumbering too.

[max_tranmere]

Clarke said on the news today that him and Cameron have very differnt views on Europe but that they would work together. Maybe Cameron is sensing a growing part of the party that has that pro-European stance, when most of the party don't, and Clarke's appointment is to make them feel they have representation at the top which will help keep them in line and stop them mutiny-ing like they did when John Major was the leader.

[randyandy]

Baffled by this to be honest.

It's noticeable on here that those who usually have something to say on politics haven't bothered which probably equates to it being a *uck up by Green Dave.

I thought the party was trying to suggest it was full of new talent this suggests something a lot different to me.

A bit sad if the answer to Mandelson has to be Clarke but it shows as far as new Tory goes they can't come up with anything fresh.

[planeterotica]

Good old Ken he will help to sort this mess out that the Labour cunts have got this country into, this is a clever move by David Cameron having a experienced politician on his front bench which is more than Brown has, as he is still a novice and so are his cabinet they havnt got a clue how to get us out of this mess that they got us into.

[Von Boy]

The thing to remember about Ken Clarke as Chancellor is that his skill at reducing government spending, reducing tax to the people etc. WAS all followed by Gordon Brown for the first 3/4 years........once they had won a second term...BANG ! the spending went through the roof,,tax went up ...public sending wastage rocketed etc...

It can only be good for the average hard working tax paying englishman...if only to tighten brown and darlings rectums !

!happy!