AND on from the Ashes to another battle for Britain - the Tory leadership challenge. I suppose I should be riveted as the Conservativessearch for a messiah. I'm finding it difficult. Well they're hardly spoilt for choice and anyway the way I see it, there can only be one of two outcomes.

One. Kenneth Clarke, the self-satisfied, Euro-friendly Hush Puppy will get in. He is the only pro-Euro candidate standing he stands a good chance of pulling it off.

Two. William Hague, or some other Euro sceptic will get in. Two words of warning here if I may to the Conservatives: Labour, 1979.

To jog their memories, Labour had chosen a leader to appease the party extremists (Michael Foot) rather than the voting public (Denis Healey), resulting in massive electoral defeat at the hands of Thatcher. They had gone off on a socialist tangent that took them 18 years to exorcise. And after an election where the Liberals got the most seats of any third party since 1929, the Tories can't afford to marginalise any further.

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