John
12-01-2010, 07:10 PM
Foreign Secretary William Hague described the Tories as having a "near death experience" when Gordon Brown almost called a snap election in 2007, leaked US cables claim.
Mr Hague's comments were revealed hours after it emerged that the Bank of England chief criticised David Cameron and George Osborne for their lack of experience.
In the latest revelations, the now-Foreign Secretary told US ambassador Louis Susman that the Tories were ill-prepared for any snap election three years ago.
He also allegedly said, more than 12 months before this year's vote, the Tories might gain power as part of a coalition.
"Hague said the polls showed the British public is 'less hostile' to the Conservative Party and, while he is optimistic about Cameron's chances, said it is also likely the Conservatives will come to power as a minority government," the ambassador wrote.
The US representative went on to say Mr Hague described himself, Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne as "children of Thatcher" - a reference to the ex-Tory Prime Minister.
Labour leader Ed Miliband quickly used the reference as a slur against Mr Cameron in this week's Prime Minister's Questions.
Meanwhile, bank boss Mervyn King told the US ambassador that the future Prime Minister and Chancellor relied too heavily on a narrow circle of advisers.
They "had a tendency to think about issues only in terms of politics, and how they might affect Tory electorability," he apparently said.
Mr King told the ambassador he had held private meetings with the Tory leader and Mr Osborne before the election to urge them to draw up a detailed plan to reduce the deficit.
In a note to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mr Susman said: "King expressed great concern about Conservative leaders' lack of experience.
"(He) opined that party leader David Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne have not fully grasped the pressures they will face from different groups when attempting to cut spending.
"In recent meetings with (Cameron and Osborne), he has pressed for details about how they plan to tackle the debt but received only generalities in return.
"Both Cameron and Osborne have a tendency to think about issues only in terms of politics and how they might affect Tory electorability.
"King also expressed concern about the Tory party's lack of depth.
"Cameron and Osborne have only a few advisers and seemed resistant to reaching out beyond their small inner circle."
Mr King was unavailable for interview but the Bank of England press office issued a statement to Sky News in response to the revelation.
"The Governor has a very effective working relationship with both the Chancellor and the Prime Minister," it said.
But Mr King faced calls to resign from Professor David Blanchflower, who used to sit on the Bank's powerful interest rate committee.
"He is expected to be politically neutral but he has shown himself to be politically biased and as a result is now in an untenable position. King must go," he wrote in the Guardian.
The embassy cables, published on the Guardian website, also reveal internal Tory polling found Mr Osborne was not taken seriously by the public, partly because his voice is "high-pitched".
And they show that Defence Secretary Liam Fox told the Americans the Tories would be tougher on Pakistan because they were less reliant on votes from the Pakistani community than Labour.
Also in the latest Wikileaks cables:
:: Mr Cameron told the Americans most British Pakistanis were not pro-Taliban but that the last government "let in some crazies".
:: The current Prime Minister of France told the US embassy, in 2005, that the EU needed a Franco-German-British "menage a trois" if it was to "move forward".
:: Former Chancellor Alistair Darling refused a request from the US ambassador that no VAT should be paid on the construction of a new £1.2bn embassy at Nine Elms in south London.
Meanwhile, Interpol has placed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on its most-wanted list after Sweden issued an arrest warrant for him.
Source - Yahoo News.
Mr Hague's comments were revealed hours after it emerged that the Bank of England chief criticised David Cameron and George Osborne for their lack of experience.
In the latest revelations, the now-Foreign Secretary told US ambassador Louis Susman that the Tories were ill-prepared for any snap election three years ago.
He also allegedly said, more than 12 months before this year's vote, the Tories might gain power as part of a coalition.
"Hague said the polls showed the British public is 'less hostile' to the Conservative Party and, while he is optimistic about Cameron's chances, said it is also likely the Conservatives will come to power as a minority government," the ambassador wrote.
The US representative went on to say Mr Hague described himself, Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne as "children of Thatcher" - a reference to the ex-Tory Prime Minister.
Labour leader Ed Miliband quickly used the reference as a slur against Mr Cameron in this week's Prime Minister's Questions.
Meanwhile, bank boss Mervyn King told the US ambassador that the future Prime Minister and Chancellor relied too heavily on a narrow circle of advisers.
They "had a tendency to think about issues only in terms of politics, and how they might affect Tory electorability," he apparently said.
Mr King told the ambassador he had held private meetings with the Tory leader and Mr Osborne before the election to urge them to draw up a detailed plan to reduce the deficit.
In a note to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mr Susman said: "King expressed great concern about Conservative leaders' lack of experience.
"(He) opined that party leader David Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne have not fully grasped the pressures they will face from different groups when attempting to cut spending.
"In recent meetings with (Cameron and Osborne), he has pressed for details about how they plan to tackle the debt but received only generalities in return.
"Both Cameron and Osborne have a tendency to think about issues only in terms of politics and how they might affect Tory electorability.
"King also expressed concern about the Tory party's lack of depth.
"Cameron and Osborne have only a few advisers and seemed resistant to reaching out beyond their small inner circle."
Mr King was unavailable for interview but the Bank of England press office issued a statement to Sky News in response to the revelation.
"The Governor has a very effective working relationship with both the Chancellor and the Prime Minister," it said.
But Mr King faced calls to resign from Professor David Blanchflower, who used to sit on the Bank's powerful interest rate committee.
"He is expected to be politically neutral but he has shown himself to be politically biased and as a result is now in an untenable position. King must go," he wrote in the Guardian.
The embassy cables, published on the Guardian website, also reveal internal Tory polling found Mr Osborne was not taken seriously by the public, partly because his voice is "high-pitched".
And they show that Defence Secretary Liam Fox told the Americans the Tories would be tougher on Pakistan because they were less reliant on votes from the Pakistani community than Labour.
Also in the latest Wikileaks cables:
:: Mr Cameron told the Americans most British Pakistanis were not pro-Taliban but that the last government "let in some crazies".
:: The current Prime Minister of France told the US embassy, in 2005, that the EU needed a Franco-German-British "menage a trois" if it was to "move forward".
:: Former Chancellor Alistair Darling refused a request from the US ambassador that no VAT should be paid on the construction of a new £1.2bn embassy at Nine Elms in south London.
Meanwhile, Interpol has placed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on its most-wanted list after Sweden issued an arrest warrant for him.
Source - Yahoo News.