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The newspapers were dominated by news and analysis of the leadership election. The headlines all seemed to have been written by moonlighting journalists from the Sporting Life, and phrases such as 'Neck And Neck', 'Three Horse Race' or 'Photo Finish' dominated the front pages. Inside, the more sanguine commentaries explained that it was difficult to predict which of the three leading contenders was now better placed, while most concluded that, in spite of his first place, Samuel was probably the most disappointed of the contestants since he had failed to live up to his early promise.
'The Party is now presented with a clear choice' intoned the Guardian.
Michael Samuel is by far the most popular and polished of the three, with a clear record of being able to combine a political career with the retention of a well defined social conscience. The fact that he has been attacked by some elements of the Party as being 'too liberal by half' is a badge he should wear with considerable pride. He would undoubtedly provide a firm lead for the Party and would continue to confront the leading social issues head on - a laudable characteristic which has, however, not always commended itself to his colleagues.
Patrick Woolton is an altogether different politician. Immensely proud of his Northern origins, he poses as a man who could unite the two halves of the country. Whether his robust style of politics could unite the two halves of his own Party is altogether more debatable. He plays his politics as if he were still hooking for his old rugby league club, although his recent experience at the Foreign Office has done much to knock some of the sharper edges off his style. Unlike Samuel he would not attempt to lead the Party in any particular philosophical direction, setting great store on a pragmatic approach. But robustness combined with pragmatism has occasionally been an unhappy combination. The Leader of the Opposition has described him as a man wandering the streets of Westminster in search of a fight for any available reason.
Francis Urquhart is more difficult to assess. The least experienced and least well known of the three, nevertheless his performance in the first round ballot was truly remarkable, far outstripping many of his better fancied senior colleagues. Three reasons seem to explain his success. First, as Chief Whip he knows the Parliamentary Party extremely well, and they him. Since it is his colleagues in the Parliamentary Party and not the electorate at large who will decide this election, his low public profile is less of a disadvantage than many perhaps assumed..
Second, he has conducted his campaign in a dignified style which sets him apart from the verbal fisticuffs and misfortunes of the other contenders. What is known of his politics suggests he holds firm to the traditionalist line, somewhat patrician and authoritarian perhaps, but sufficiently ill-defined for him not to have antagonised either wing of the Party.
Finally, perhaps his greatest asset is that he is neither of the other two. Many MPs have certainly supported him in the first round rather than commit themselves to one of the better fancied but more contentious candidates. He is the obvious choice for those who wish to sit on the fence. But it is that which could ultimately derail his campaign, because as the pressure for a clear decision forces Government MPs off the fence, Urquhart is the candidate who could suffer most.
So the choice is clear. Those who wish to air their social consciences will support Samuel. Those who thirst for blood-and-thunder politics will support Woolton. Those who cannot make up their minds have an obvious choice in Urquhart. Whichever way they decide, they will inevitably deserve what they get.
Woolton chuckled as he munched his breakfast toast. He knew it was most unlikely at the end of the day that his colleagues would support a call to conscience - it was so difficult to explain in the pub or over the garden fence, and popular politics shouldn't be too complicated. If Urquhart's support was going to be squeezed, he decided, then the majority of switchers would come to him, and the bleeding hearts could go hang. Margaret Thatcher had shown how it could be done, and she was a woman. Take away her feminine shrillness and the dogmatic inflexibility, he mused, and you had the ideal political leader -Patrick Woolton.
As his wife replenished his tea he debated with himself whether he should rile another prominent rabbi in the next few days just to remind his colleagues of the Jewish issue. He decided against it; it wasn't necessary, the Party's old guard would see to that without his interfering.
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