‘We must turn to the Liberals’

Fraser Nelson meets the former chancellor, reborn as Cameron’s ‘ambassador for trust’, who calls for a coalition of Tories and Lib Dems

An interview with Kenneth Clarke is not for the asthmatic. His office commands arguably the best riverside views in Westminster, but sights like the London Eye and the Saatchi Gallery must compete with the smoke of his trademark cigar. It is his prop, his muse and egg-timer. When it’s over, I’m out. Luckily it’s a slow-burner and gives an hour for the man whom David Cameron has entrusted to run his Democracy Task Force to describe his remarkable vision for the party’s future. It is finally time, he believes, for the Tories to prepare for coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

On paper, it’s hard to think of a less likely candidate to be Cameron’s ‘ambassador for trust’ — leading a policy group which will find ways to re-engage a young generation of voters.