The Old Europeans target Cameron and Willetts for Clarke

"We have got two perfectly good one-nation candidates in Cameron and Clarke and although they aren't going to make a pact they ought to be sufficiently well advised to work out by the time of the party conference which of them is ahead.  The one who isn't should withdraw."

- Lord Hurd in today's FT

Chris Patten was giving a similar, but more subtle, message on this morning's Today programme.  Clearly doing the work of Ken Clarke (who he formally endorsed) Lord Patten said that David Cameron had enormous potential to be a great Conservative leader and Prime Minister.  "But not yet" is the unspoken hint.  Join Clarke now - is the message - and inherit the Tory crown from him (soon).  The Hurd and Patten interventions were a clear echo of Michael Heseltine's attempts of mid-August to encourage DC to endorse KC.  An aide to Lord Heseltine was then reported as saying:“It is not like Gordon Brown waiting years for Tony Blair to give up the top job; Ken is 65 so he is not going to be hanging around for much longer."

But David Cameron is not the only leadership contender in the sights of the 'Old European big beasts'.  Earlier in the week Ken Clarke was admitting to being "a big fan" of David Willetts.  On Today Lord Patten praised Mr Willetts as parliament's finest policy thinker.

Is a Clarke-Cameron-Willetts ticket possible?  Davids Cameron and Willetts are Eurosceptics and certainly don't share Ken Clarke's Iraq views (which are condemned as unwise in today's Times).

Lord Patten attempted to make the case for Ken Clarke by leaving listeners to Radio 4 with two (he hoped) leading questions:

1. Which candidate does Labour fear most?
2. Which candidate does the public like most?

Comments

[Sam Coates]

You don't get a day off do you Ed! Can you get people to help you with the media-watch side of things?

I do like the idea of a CCW ticket. And I think the fact that the underrated and unglamourous former Shadow Work and Pensions minister and current minister for industry is being wooed so much is a sign of a healthy contest. I imagine if there hadn't been so much time to debate about it all it would have been even more of a 'beauty contest'.

[James Hellyer]

I think Willittes being wooed is indicative of how little support some of the candidates actually have.

Clarke, in particular, is trying to head off accusations that's he's an intellectually lazy yesterday's man, by appropriating Willetts and his policy ideas.

Similarly anything Cameron says has to be viewed within the context of his campaign just having had the legs knocked out from under it.

[Selsdon Man]

What has Hurd got against Rifkind? Does he not consider him to be a One Nation Tory?

[AnotherNick]

While I can see problems with it, on the whole it would be useful to vote on a 'ticket'. One person alone isn't going to turn the party around. CCW(R) could be an attractive combination.

[James Maskell]

Looking at Lord Hurds autobiography, Hurd doesnt appear to have a problem with Rifkind. They seemed to get on fairly well, Rifkind being recommended for Foreign Secretary under Major. I think in this case its a case that Rifkind is less likely to be chosen as leader than Cameron or Clarke and therefore isnt seen as in contention.

[Sally Rideout Baker]

If Ken had been less pro European at the past leadership elections he would have saved us a whole load of trouble and I dare say we would now be in power.

He is at last attacking Blair who has had an easy time since Howard became leader by slight of hand.

Howard having called Blair a liar after lying about his own past (the truth of which unravelled at the worse possible time) contributed to making the election a total farce.

Whoever becomes the new leader needs a biography which is detailed, 100% truthful and not start from when they became 30 years old.

So Mr Clarke and Mr Davis take note.

[Jack Stone]

One thing I do find exciting about the thought of Ken Clarke becoming leader is the thought that he is more likely to be able to put together a more talented team then the other candidates because MP`s will be more willing to serve under him because with him as leader they will start to think that they could actually win.
You imagine a cabinet with Clarke, Hauge, Cameron, Osborne, Rifkind, Willets, May and IDS in it. It wouldn`t be a shadow cabinet it would be a government in waiting!

[Selsdon Man]

Any future Conservative government should also include Davis and Fox. Why did you leave them out?

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

I'm pretty sure that I saw an article somewhere a few weeks ago which quoted Davis as saying he would be prepared to serve in a Shadow Cabinet with Ken as leader. Ken would be a fool to ignore the likes of Davis and Fox if he became leader. I'm not sure Hague and Duncan Smith would be willing to take positions in the Shadow Cabinet though.

[Derek]

What shadow cabinet posts has Clarke held since 1997? If you want the support of others in your team you need to show you are a team player yourself!

While it might be of passing interest to know what the candidates did before they were thirty it is much more relevant what they have been doing in the last eight years. In Clarke's case that seems to have been making money in the tobacco industry.