UR TV CAST

And I am the man to do it.” He added: “I am determined that Britain should be governed better than it has been under New Labour. The former chancellor unveiled his leadership bid to the Daily Mail and launched a website: www.kenclarke.co.uk. Mr Clarke told the Daily Mail: “The political health of Britain has deteriorated very sharply The Conservative Party must do something about it. Mr Clarke said last night: “The Conservative Party needs a popular leader who can broaden the appeal of the party and earn the respect of all sections of British society … I will put the Conservative Party on track for Government.”
He will start the first of a series of meetings with MPs and will make a major speech, one of several on major policy themes, tomorrow.

The former chancellor, 65, will meet Tory MPs this morning and confirm his intention to have a third shot at the political job which has eluded him since he lost to William Hague in 1997. The intervention follows a belief in Whitehall and amongst supporters of Gordon Brown he would revive the anti-sleaze agenda if he became prime minister.. Ken Clarke, the big beast of the Tory leadership campaign, ended months of speculation and heavy hints last night and formally joined the race to lead the Conservative Party for a third time. He said a Civil Service Act was vital to protect officials who were told to cross the line of political impartiality.His remarks will be seen as an attack on Andrew Turnbull, who has just retired as cabinet secretary, and who has been criticised in Whitehall for failing to back such an act.Sir Alistair said he was looking forward to working with Sir Gus O’Donnell, the new Cabinet Secretary, who had already shown a commitment to high standards in public life. Sir Alistair criticised ministers for sneaking in measures strengthening the role of special advisers using an obscure parliamentary device without public debate. But he has blocked plans for a Civil Service Act, which would underpin in law the impartiality and integrity of the civil service.

“I agree that the public perception is that at times they [the Government] want to control everything.”Tony Blair once pledged to banish sleaze and lead a “whiter than white” government. “Ordinary people said what we mean by honesty is people telling the truth, telling things as they are and admitting they have made mistakes – what the mistake is and what lessons they have learned from it,” he said. He said: “If people believe there is a lack of trust between the people who are governed and the people who are doing the governing then this issue of honesty is a central issue.”The move follows polls by the committee showing the public has little trust in politicians and has concerns about their honesty. Sir Alistair singled out the sixth principle, honesty, and said the wording needed to make it explicit ministers should tell the truth in office.Sir Alistair said his revision of the principles was “an attempt to address this trust issue”.