THE Secretary of State for Wales, Mr William Hague, yesterday declined to rule himself out of a post election defeat Tory leadership contest. Pressed to do so, the bookies favourite to be the next Tory leader told Channel 4's A Week in Politics last night that speculation about his standing was "absolutely ridiculous".
Asked to confirm that he would not stand, Mr Hague said: "Don't count John Major out as the next leader of the Conservative Party."