Fox speech seen as early move of a Tory leadership hopeful

LIAM Fox will set out his vision for the future of the Tories tomorrow in a speech calling for a return to Thatcherite values of small government as the unofficial battle for the party leadership begins.

The Tory co-chairman will lay out his personal vision of the party’s future, saying Conservatives must have the courage to trust people ahead of government - and put at the heart of its manifesto a transfer of power from politicians to the public.

While he will deny it is a formal leadership declaration, it will be seen as Dr Fox’s bid to go head-to-head with David Davis, the bookies’ favourite.

In a surprising attack the party’s other co-chairman, Lord Saatchi, criticised the election campaign which saw the Tories gain only an extra 0.6 per cent on their 2001 result.

"The most telling statistic I can put to you is that 70 per cent, a huge majority of the population, agrees with the statement: ‘It is hard to know exactly what the Conservatives stand for these days,’" he told the BBC.

Dr Fox will seek to address this by making clear his vision of Conservatism. The title of the speech to Politeia think tank is "Let Freedom Reign" - and will borrow heavily from the strand of conservatism successful in the US.

The title of the speech is drawn from the words George W Bush wrote to Tony Blair across the table of a summit when the US mandate formally ended and power was handed to Iraq’s interim prime minister.

Dr Fox, second favourite for the Tory leadership, has said it is "too early" to declare his hand, although he is widely expected to stand in a bid to stop his arch-rival Mr Davis, who last week trebled his majority over the Liberal Democrats.

Michael Howard made it clear he believed the leadership rules should be changed ahead of a successor being appointed, and this has been interpreted as an attempt to destroy the chances of Mr Davis, who has made no secret of his desire for the top job.

However, the shadow home secretary could have a final trump card up his sleeve - he could threaten that his wealthy supporters who bankrolled the Tory campaign could call in their loans sooner rather than later, leaving the party seriously cash-strapped.

The infighting, just days after the election result, belies the fact that the Tory leadership will drag on until November - as the rules on its leadership election cannot be changed until October.