Where are the giants? In 2001 the Conservatives were defeated in a second successive election, again by a landslide. The party’s leadership was contested by Kenneth Clarke, who had been chancellor of the Exchequer and was the only Tory politician whom Tony Blair had reason to fear. Clarke’s main rival for much of the contest was Michael Portillo, a nationally recognised figure who had been talked about as a Conservative prime minister-in-waiting for close to a decade. Even the unexpected winner, Iain Duncan Smith, born of the party’s right flank, had shadowed a secretary of state for four years.
In 2015 the Labour Party has been defeated in a second successive election, once more by a significant margin. The leadership is being contested by Yvette Cooper, best known outside Westminster for being married to Ed Balls, and Andy Burnham, chief secretary to the Treasury during the financial crisis and the health secretary who oversaw record levels of private-sector involvement in the NHS. Liz Kendall has never shadowed a secretary of state, and Jeremy Corbyn has never served on the front benches.
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