With Clarke's departure he worried his moderate politics would depart with him
"Ken Clarke's resignation as Tory Senate Leader has been announced. The Conservative Senator has been leader since 2011, and before that he was European Commissioner between 2004 and 2009. Mr Clarke is reported to have said being part of the 2008 coalition government had brought out his "inner liberal". His many critics on the Conservative right might argue it was never very well hidden in the first place. Pro-European in an Eurosceptic party, an opponent of "banging up" criminals and an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, he has often seemed a man apart. With a blunt-speaking, "blokeish" style, he has always enjoyed popularity among the public. But his troubles with fellow Tories meant Mr Clarke never fulfilled his ultimate ambition to be President. He ran and failed to become Tory leader in 1997, and failed to become President in 1999 and 2004. Yet, despite being one of the most rebellious Conservatives in the Commons, he came back. With power again on the radar, Clarke was elected Tory Senate Leader in 2011. It is in this role that the Cambridge-educated former barrister attracted controversy." - Profile: Ken Clarke, BBC News (2014)
Clarke had been Britain's man in Brussels for five years
With Clarke’s departure, the Tories’ hundred strong Senate caucus had to select it’s new leader. Many were eager not to repeat the mistakes of the past, Clarke had been sold to them as the most electable candidate and the candidate who got on best with Osborne, with the Tories firmly in opposition and Osborne a dead man walking, the Senate Tories were in no mood to compromise. With UKIP providing a tempting escape route and Osborne’s authority in tatters many feared the election would lead to an irretrievable split. The aim of the game became to avoid a civil war; by any means necessary.
The search for a mythical “unity candidate” began. Names floated included Senators Micheal Fallon or Premier Patrick McLoughlin, however most Tory donors had one name in mind, former South East Premier Theresa May. May was experienced, having run the Commonwealth’s largest region, better than that as she hadn’t spent the last decade in the Senate she had very few enemies within the party. The icing on the cake for some politicians was that Osborne absolutely despised her, a winning combination. May announced her candidacy, quickly gaining steam with several major endorsements including David Davis and, most importantly, former President Howard.
As May stormed ahead amongst both moderates and radicals, some in the British Freedom Caucus began to suspect the reigns were being stolen from them. Whilst her views on immigration were harshly Conservative, May hadn’t come out in favour of leaving the European Union, a red line for many in the BFC. They began to recruit their own candidate. Old hand Ian Duncan Smith was approached first but he couldn’t be coaxed out of retirement. Barnett Mayor Theresa Villiers was also asked but ruled herself out. Eventually the caucus reluctantly settled on Chris Grayling, the former Home Secretary and gaffe prone Senator for the South East.
Grayling was known for his "tough on crime" policies whilst Home Secretary
“Chris Grayling’s “disastrous” privatisation of probation damaged services that are meant to keep the public safe. The Home Affairs Committee said the 2010 scheme, introduced by then Home Secretary Chris Grayling failed to reduce re-offending. MPs said that under Mr Grayling’s leadership, the Home Office pushed through reforms at “breakneck speed”. This was despite warnings that the payment structure for companies being handed probation work would not work. The report said that as the 2011 election approached, the government failed to pilot the changes. “It is unacceptable that so many unnecessary risks were taken with taxpayers’ money,” MPs concluded. Inexcusably, probation services have been left in a worse position than they were in before the ministry embarked on its reforms.” Margaret Curran, chair of the Joint Home Affairs Committee, said warnings had been sounded for years. “The ministry’s attempts to address the failures in the reforms cost the taxpayer an extra £500m." - Chris Grayling's 'disastrous' probation privatisation worsened supervision of criminals, MPs say, Lizzie Dearden, The Independent (2014)
Clarke had made a great mistake by not grooming a successor and with his power over the party destroyed he had very little capital to elevate one. Being seen as an “Osbornite” was seen as a toxic label. Senior moderates like Premier Philip Hammond and Senators Eric Pickles and Nicky Morgan all refused to run, throwing their weight behind May. Jeremy Hunt, a fairly uninspiring ally of Osborne made a brief bid but withdrew shortly after due to a lack of support. With Grayling supported by less than a dozen of Senators, May’s victory was seemingly inevitable.
May posses for a photo with Senior Conservative politicians
Grayling’s campaign was a disaster from the start, living up to his reputation, he was publicly mocked when he suggested on Andrew Marr that books should be banned from prisons in order to be “tough on crime”. Grayling’s questionable views on LGBT rights also came to the forefront. Grayling was secretly taped suggesting that bed and breakfasts should "have the right" to turn away homosexual couples. The comments, made by Grayling in 2010 to a leading centre-right think-tank, drew an angry response from gay groups and other parties. In a recording of the meeting of the Centre for Policy Studies, obtained by the Observer, Grayling made clear that B&Bs should be free to turn away guests. "We need to allow people to have their own consciences," he said. "If you look at the case of should a Christian B&B owner have the right to exclude a gay couple from a hotel, that individual should have the right to decide." He drew a distinction, with hotels, which he says should admit gay couples. "If they are running a hotel on the high street, it isn't right that a gay couple should walk into a hotel and be turned away because they are a gay couple. That is where the dividing line comes." Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, said the comments were "very alarming to a lot of gay people."
“Grayling was among a group of Senators rebuked by the statistics watchdog for rushing out figures showing 400,000 immigrants were on benefits. Despite being ‘ vulnerable to misinterpretation’, the claims were given to the media. Grayling was recorded saying he supported the right of B&B owners to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples. This drew condemnation from across the political spectrum with calls for his resignation. As ever Grayling attempted to squirm his way out of the scandal. ‘I am sorry if what I said gave the wrong impression, I didn’t intend to offend anyone. I voted for gay rights. If by supporting gay rights he actually meant voting against civil partnerships I suppose he had a point. His championing of gay rights seemed to fall on deaf ears and he was named ‘Bigot of the year’ by Stonewall.” - The Justice Gap, Jon Robbins (2014)
Meanwhile May was quietly pressing flesh and making friends amongst the Tory caucus. For many Tories, even those on the right, they had spent too much time in opposition and didn’t want to risk Grayling’s leadership. His supporters abandoned him in droves. Both Osborne and Clarke reluctantly gave their support to May. Osborne and Howard appeared in public together for the first time since the election to endorse May as Senate Leader. Despite his support abandoning him, Grayling doggedly pushed ahead with his campaign. On a cold December the Senate Tories gathered to elect for conference in Liverpool to see who their new Senate lead candidate would be.
Through a mix of luck and personal prowess May had come from nowhere to win control of the Senate Tories by a landslide. Grayling was humiliated, winning just six Senators. Theresa May made a direct pitch to UKIP voters in her victory speech. May pledged to clamp down on the rights of asylum seekers. She renewed her commitment to cut net migration to below 200,000 in terms so harsh that she was condemned even by her allies. The Senate Lead Candidate's speech was a challenge to the coalition's liberal migration policy. To many, it sounded cheap and inflammatory. Theresa May pledged to reform the Commonwealth's asylum rules during an uncompromising speech. May pledged she would campaign to reduce the numbers claiming in Britain while taking in the "most vulnerable" refugees. She also said high migration made a "cohesive society" impossible. Her speech was criticised by business groups, with the IoD attacking its "irresponsible rhetoric". Net migration into the Commonwealth currently stood at a record high, reaching 400,000. The Senate Leader told the Conservative Party conference Britain "does not need" net migration at current levels.
“Net migration to Britain has surged by 70,000 in the past year to 400,000, leaving in tatters Ed Ball's promise to reduce the figure by the next election. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) says the increase was accounted for by a rise in European Union nationals coming to Britain. Those coming from the new EU states of Romania and Bulgaria account for only 20,000 of the 70,000 rise. The bulk of the increase from western European countries such as Italy. The rise in the yardstick of net migration is a major embarrassment for Balls, the Prime Minister and Ed Miliband, the President. Labour fought the 2014 election on a pledge to bring net migration down by the time of the next general election. The ONS said the net migration figure was made up of 600,000 coming to live in Britain in the year to March 2014. Balls brought in sweeping new immigration policies to cut the flow, which initially cut the annual figure, but since then it has risen to the new high. The Greens have always made clear the promise was not a coalition policy.” - Net migration to UK soars by 40% to 400,000, Alan Travis, The Guardian (2014)
“To what extent was May’s immigration policy a political pitch to UKIP voters, rather than a deeply held personal belief? (30 Marks)” - A Level Politics Exam (2020)