William Hague

The Right Honourable William Jefferson Hague (born March 26, 1961) is a British politician and former leader of the Conservative Party. Hague was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, into an upper-middle class family in a strongly working-class area, and caused a sensation at the age of sixteen by speaking at the Conservative party's 1977 national conference. This appearance is so infamous that the comedian Harry Enfield based his Tory Boy character on it, long before Hague emerged as a well-known politican.

Hague Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle, 2 December 1998

Explanation

A minor Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was required due to the sacking of Viscount Cranborne over the House of Lords Act 1999. Cranborne had been engaged in secret negotiations with the Labour Government over the issue of hereditary peers, without informing William Hague. This amendment (proposed by Bernard Weatherill for issues of formality, known as the Weatherill Amendment) allowed 92 hereditary peers to remain. The sacking of Cranborne led to a leadership crisis, with some Conservative peers resigning the party whip.

Related Topics:
Viscount Cranborne - House of Lords Act 1999 - Bernard Weatherill - Weatherill Amendment

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Shadow Cabinet

• Rt. Hon. William Hague MP — Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and Leader of the British Conservative Party
• Rt. Hon. Peter Lilley MP — Deputy Leader of the British Conservative Party
• Rt. Hon. Francis Maude MP — Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Rt. Hon. Michael Howard QC MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
• Rt. Hon. Sir Norman Fowler MP — Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Rt. Hon. Lord Parkinson PC — Chairman of the Conservative Party
• David Willets MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Employment
• Rt. Hon. Sir George Young Bt MP — Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Rt. Hon. Lord Strathclyde PC — Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
• John Maples MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
• Rt. Hon. John Redwood MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
• Rt. Hon. Gillian Shephard MP — Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
• Dr Liam Fox MP — Constitutional Affairs spokesman
• Tim Yeo MP — Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• Gary Streeter MP — Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
• Rt. Hon. David Heathcoat-Amory MP — Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
• Peter Ainsworth MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
• Rt. Hon. Andrew Mackay MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• Rt. Hon. Ann Widdecombe MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Health
• Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Social Security
• Rt. Hon. James Arbuthnot MP — Opposition Chief Whip
• Lord Henley — Lords Opposition Chief Whip

Changes

• Rt. Hon. Viscount Cranborne PC is sacked from the Shadow Cabinet
• Rt. Hon. Lord Strathclyde PC moves from Lords Opposition Chief Whip to Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
• Lord Henley enters the Shadow Cabinet as Lords Oppsoition Chief Whip