William Hague
- Writer
William Jefferson Hague was born on 26 March 1961 in Rotherham,
Yorkshire. He was educated at Wath-upon-Deane Comprehensive School and
was regarded by many of his teachers as a model pupil - hard-working,
well behaved and a credit to the school. It was during his youth that
he developed his passion for Conservativism. Aged just 16, he addressed
the 1977 Conservative Party Conference with a spirit, humour and
conviction that led then Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher to
describe him as the next William Pitt. His academic success made it
possible for him to study at Magdalen College, Oxford. He went into
politics, was elected Conservative Member for Richmond and served in
John Major's cabinet as Welsh Secretary (during which time he met his
future wife, Ffion). After the Conservatives' landslide defeat at the
hands of New Labour in 1997, John Major resigned as Tory leader. In the
resultant leadership election, William, aged just 36, was chosen to
lead the party. As leader, William failed to dent Prime Minister Tony
Blair's consistently high public ratings. He also became ridiculed for
a series of misjudgments, such as his decision to wear a baseball cap
to appeal to young voters, his boast that he had regularly drunk 14
pints of beer a day as a young man, his judo sessions and his
wisecracking comments at Prime Minister's Questions. He fought the 2001
General Election on the issues of keeping the pound and rejecting the
European Single Currency, locking up all asylum seekers and lowering
the tax burden. His failure to make any clear commitments to better
public services was regarded by many as severely damaging to his
election chances. On June 7, the Conservatives were resoundingly beaten
by the Labour Party for a second successive time. Although he was
re-elected to his Richmond seat, Hague resigned as Tory leader the next
day. He became only the second Conservative Party leader in the history
of British politics never to serve as Prime Minister. His future is
uncertain, although careers in either enterprise or broadcasting are
realistic possibilities.
