Courtesy of Sky News:
This strikes me as a very sound analysis on all counts.
Interesting that Sky headlined his comments about Theresa May rather than his much more damning analysis of Michael Gove.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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Judy Abel 
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7 Comments
I do like Ken Clarke and in my personal view rate him as the best Chancellor of my lifetime. I agree, Caron, a very sound analysis. Mrs May is bloody difficult but assuming that she is the next PM, that could be an advantage in coming negotiations with the EU and her own backbenchers. She’ll be hoping Fox’s endorsement doesn’t damage her too much.
Sounds like the negative, sneering campaigning that catches attention but leads to shocking results.
Stevan Rose: Roy Jenkins was also one of the best Chancellors of my lifetime.
When John Major resigned Ken Clarke ran for the Tory leadership in a deal with John Redwood, whose views on Europe and on loyalty to John Major were quite different.
William Hague won the support of Tory MPs and arranged a vote of the Tory membership with one candidate, in part enabling Tory Central Office to find out who they were.
Before I saw this, I was listening to an item on Womans Hour where his comment on Theresa May was mentioned unfavourably in the discussion on the upcoming Fawcett Lecture. The subject of the lecture is millenia-long efforts of men to shut women up, starting with legislation in Mesopotamia 3000 years ago. One of the people commented that describing someone as a bloody difficult woman is a way of belittling a woman with decisive opinions and stopping people from listening to them.
Apart from that, Clark was pretty close to the mark. Was the other participant Malcolm Rifkind?
In a way, Clark’s go at Boris, though spot on, is a bit daring. Clark’s public persona also includes a bit of bad boy image – wit, empathetic opinions, smoker, director of a tobacco company….
Nice to see the old warrior’s still around, albeit largely living on his own planet in splendid isolation from his party these days.
I think the ‘bloody difficult’ line – although clearly fitting into a ‘man’s world’ saloon-bar attitude to women (and politics) that isn’t entirely pleasant – has been over-hyped, given that he then suggests May’s less ‘difficult’ than Thatcher, implies he nevertheless respected Thatcher, and then goes on to say how much he respects May and her abilities and will probably vote for her.
The clear reaction of outrage of both these grandees to Gove, and their contempt for the Brexiters, is abundant.
Their hysterical laughter at the idea of Boris as PM is also rather jolly.
But, how I long for a world where the circles of power no longer permanently resemble the golfclubs of the Home Counties.
Ken Clarke may be pro-EU etc, but there is (was) a dark side:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/aug/23/conservatives.smoking
I have a grudging respect for Ken Clarke, and I can’t believe that he didn’t know what he was doing – With someone of his experience dealing with press/media having such a ‘free and easy’ exchange, given that Malcolm Rifkind was all but whispering, suggests IMO he was, if not aware they were being recorded not concerned that his comments could/may have been overheard!