FACED with a ruling party limping towards a third term in Government with the unpopular baggage of the war in Iraq, a stronger Conservative opposition would surely have stopped Tony Blair from reaching his historic hat-trick.

The fact that the Tories fell short underlines the fact that Michael Howard was not seen as a Prime Minister and that his policies were too negative to connect sufficiently with the electorate.

Of course Mr Howard can argue that progress has been made, with Labour's majority slashed. But a reduced majority was inevitable and the inroads were not enough.

With Ken Clarke as leader, we believe it might well have been a different story. But his time has now passed, along with Mr Howard's.

Mr Clarke is a missed opportunity for the Tory Party, even though he says he is considering making a third bid for the leadership.

Now 64 - a year older than Mr Howard - he will be nearly 70 by the time the next General Election comes along and that is simply too old.

When the next election is fought, Labour will have a new leader and it will almost certainly be Gordon Brown. He will give his party new energy and fresh appeal.

If they are to compete, the Tories need to go into battle with a younger man capable of making the party more attractive to voters.

What a shame that William Hague has ruled himself out of contention and that the MP for Richmond became leader too early in his career.