By-election trouncing puts pressure on Hague to drop hardline policies

William Hague was under pressure to drop his hardline policies yesterday after the Tories suffered a humiliating defeat in the parliamentary by-election in Romsey.

Tory MPs warned that the Liberal Democrats' sensational win showed that the Tories were heading for defeat at the next general election, despite their strong showing in Thursday's local government polls.

Sandra Gidley, the Liberal Democrat candidate, overturned a Tory majority of more than 8,500 to seize the Romsey seat with a majority of 3,311 - and a huge 12 per cent swing. Her win was only the second time in 100 years that the Tories have lost a by-election while in opposition.

The result sent shockwaves through the Conservative Party, which launched an urgent inquest. Moderate Tory MPs warned that the 55 per cent turn-out in Romsey showed that Mr Hague's hardline stance on issues such as asylum-seekers and law and order would not work in a general election, even though it had mobilised Tory supporters in the council polls, in which only one in three people voted.

Ian Taylor, Tory MP for Esher, described the Romsey result as "pretty desperate." He said: "Trying to heighten the concerns of traditional Conservatives does not play well on the national stage. The party is reviving locally but we need to think deeply about how we present ourselves nationally."

Some senior Tories attributed the strong performance of Steven Norris, the party's candidate in the London mayoral election, to his more tolerant approach. It is understood that Mr Norris has been in close contact with Michael Portillo, the shadow Chancellor, who is developing a new brand of "caring Conservatism" and has not echoed Mr Hague's remarks on asylum-seekers and crime. "Portillo's absence in the last two weeks speaks volumes," said one former Tory cabinet minister.

Mr Norris said of his second place in London: "I hope there is a lesson there for the party. I've always thought that being more inclusive is the way for parties to be more successful. We've been getting people voting for the Conservative Party in places they've never done before. It clearly demonstrates that when you reach out to people who aren't Tory voters, you can do so successfully."

In a jibe at Mr Hague, a Norris supporter said: "At least Portillo and Norris have a coherent set of policies - social and economic liberalism."

But the Tories said their trouncing in Romsey would not lead to a U-turn by Mr Hague, who believes his populist strategy in recent weeks has struck a chord with the voters. He said: "I am not aware of any shift to the right. We have lost an election in which 35,000 people voted and we have made gains in one in which five million people voted."

His aides insisted the Romsey result was due to "organisational" rather than political mistakes. Tory sources said it had been an error to select Timothy Palmer as the party's candidate because he did not have the local connections of Ms Gidley. They accused Tories in Romsey of being "complacent".

But Conservative Central Office cannot escape blame. Insiders said it had been a mistake to call the by-election on the same day as the local elections, as this reduced the Tories' campaigning strength.

The Romsey result was a huge boost for Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader. His first by-election triumph will help him to silence internal party critics who have been grumbling about his performance since he succeeded Paddy Ashdown. Labour lost its deposit as its supporters flocked to the Liberal Democrats in a remarkable example of anti-Tory tactical voting.

Result

Electorate 69,858; Turn-out 38,709 (55.41%) Sandra Gidley (LD) 19,571 (50.56%, +21.13%) Timothy Palmer (C) 16,260 (42.01%) Andrew Howard (Lab) 1,451 (3.75%) Garry Rankin-Moore (UKIP) 901 (2.33%) Derrick Large (LCA) 417 (1.08%) Thomas Lamont (Ind) 109 (0.28%) LD maj 3,311 (8.55%) 12.56% swing C to LD 1997: C maj 8,585 (16.57%); Turn-out 51,821 (76.99%)