Michael Howard's Effectiveness as Leader of the Opposition.

This paper examines the circumstances under which Michael Howard became leader of the British Conservative Party in November 2003, and analyzes his effectiveness as Leader of the Opposition through the general election of 5 May 2005. Howard inherited a party bitterly divided over its leadership, its policy direction, and its future. After immediately establishing his credibility as a fearsome debater at the dispatch box in parliamentary debates with Prime Minister Tony Blair, he established a vision for Britain in his "British Dream" speech. While staying true to Conservative principles of fair play, choice, and expanded opportunity, he offered a framework for the policies the Tories would put before the British people at the 2005 general election. Ultimately, the Conservative Party's 2005 Election Manifesto emphasized six themes: 1) More Police, 2) Cleaner Hospitals, 3) Lower Taxes, 4) School Discipline, 5) Controlled Immigration, and 6) Accountability. The main argument of this paper is that those themes were chosen because they represented areas of policy where Howard had provided an effective critique of government policy and had established a realistic alternative. This paper details Howard's effectiveness in holding the Labour Government of Tony Blair to account.After exploring the enormity and dimensions of Howard's task as Leader of the Opposition, this paper concludes that he deserves enormous credit for leading the Conservative Party out of the political wilderness, and that he effectively established a credible alternative to New Labour. While the current leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, has recently been given much credit for the revival of his party, Michael Howard's contributions should not be underestimated. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]