Big Graeme wrote:Major and Hague?
Hague has always been a good orator, he's one of the best speakers in the Commons and having been to a university event where he spoke to a crowd of mainly lefties, he certainly came across well and avoided having the patronising Tory attitude.
It wasn't his speaking abilities that let him down, more the fact that he was too young at the time, the Tories were a heavily discredited party and Blair was at his strongest, with a strong economy, so he was easily defeated. I think had Hague not been leader then, and been leader from 2005, the Tories would be a stronger party than they are now.
There were rumours at one time of him having another crack at the leadership but I get the feeling he wants to do other things in life now, he has a lot of business interests and wants to spend more time writing books, so I expect he will retire from politics before too long.