Ken Clarke and splits - it was only a matter of time.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is a split between Ken Clarke and the rest of the Tory party on tax, but it was only a matter of time before the accusations from Labour started. And unfortunately this is only Labour's opening salvo before they really ramp up their Tory split campaign at the Euro elections. Bringing Clarke back had split written all over it - Brown and Mandelson probably couldn't believe their luck.

Cameron has made a massive error of judgement bringing Clarke back. He has underestimated Clarke's love of speaking his mind, and he has underestimated how low Brown and Mandelson will stoop. It doesn't matter if the split is real, Brown will use the word split in the next six months as much as he has used global in the last six months. Brown thinks that some people are stupid enough to believe anything if you say it enough, and unfortunately he is right.

I was exceedingly angry to hear that Clarke was coming back. I knew, and Cameron should have known that the only thing that could possibly give Labour a chance of winning the next election would be a divided Conservative party. Sadly we are stuck with Clarke now because getting rid of him will only fuel the Tory split stories. I have a very bad feeling about the future of the party. Big beast Clarke may be, but he is also a man with a big mouth and an even bigger ego.

David Cameron - Ken Clarke will kill the party!

I cannot believe that David Cameron has brought back Ken Clarke. The man is a raving Europhile and is probably the least loyal Conservative MP when it comes to voting in the house. This term Clarke has voted against the party at a rate of almost one vote in ten. This is a very bad day for the party and will do nothing but cause splits and alienate members.

David Cameron - you have let down a great number of members tonight.

Ken Clarke - NO NO NO

I cannot believe that they are considering bringing back Ken Clarke. According to Andrew Porter from the Telegraph, George Osborne is said to welcome the move. I will tell you now that bringing back Clarke will destroy any chance the Conservative party has of winning the next General Election. There is no place on the front bench for a Europhile.

Bring back Clarke and watch the poll ratings plummet.

Ken Clarke set to kill Conservative hopes of election win.

The Telegraph are hinting that David Cameron may be ready to bring Ken Clarke back to the Tory front bench. I've said elsewhere that I would not renew my party membership if this happens. Also, blogging can be hard work when you are in full time employment and Ken Clarke on the front bench would give me another reason to pack it all in.

Why do I dislike Clarke so much? The answer is simple - the EU. The man is an out and out Europhile. I will never forgive him for standing up in the House of Commons to argue for the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. Clarke's EU stance would split the party and kill any chance of a Tory victory in the next General Election. Every Wednesday at noon, Gordon Brown will stand up in the house and say "Tory Split" - and he will be right. No matter how great our policies may be on health, education, crime, social justice, the economy etc... we will never win a General Election against the Labour spin machine if we have a split party.

Besides the EU, Clarke shows that he is a dinosaur at odds with the modern party, to a greater extent, as each year passes. The following shows just how out of touch with the party he has become:

Ken Clarke's voting record:

Rebel:

1 May 1997 to 14 May 2001, 5 votes out of 543, 0.9%

7 Jun 2001 to 11 Apr 2005, 26 votes out of 610 4.3%

5 May 2005 to date, 44 votes out of 497, 8.9%

Do you see a pattern emerging?

In almost one in ten votes, he votes against the party. Split anyone?

Ken Clarke may attract some people into the Conservative camp, BUT his appointment to the front bench will see many more leave.