The former Tory leader William Hague gave a rare free lecture at Westminster this week. Since stepping down after his landslide defeat in the 2001 General Election, Hague has made a good living on the lecture circuit and completed his acclaimed biography on the abolitionist William Wilberforce, the subject of his talk.
Answering questions afterwards, he made it crystal clear he does not hanker after a return to his party's top job. He is nonetheless the bookies' favourite to replace David Cameron.
William Hill's decision to offer odds on a leadership change is underlined by a fascinating YouGov poll, commissioned by The First Post. It shows that a large block of electors believe the Tories would have a better chance of winning an election under him.
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As our exclusive poll shows, the Tory leader is in a desperately shaky position, writes donald malcolm |
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a clear preference over Hague, it is interesting that the ex-leader pushes his boss close among Liberal Democrats, a group Cameron has been trying to woo.
Also, among voters aged 55 and above, Cameron and Hague are virtually level-pegging. This age group is significant: the average age of Conservative party members is 65.
The bookmakers' sudden interest comes at the end of a horrible fortnight for Cameron. It began with the debacle of the Ealing Southall by-election, took him to Rwanda where a local reporter asked why he wasn't at home with his flooded constituents, on to the Commons where he gave his worst ever performance at Prime Minister's Questions, and culminated in this morning's poll putting Labour nine points ahead - the worst poll for the Tories since he took over. After PMQs, a senior Tory who runs a 
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