THE former British Home Secretary, Mr Michael Howard, attempted to "draw a line" under his bitter dispute with a colleague yesterday by relaunching his Tory leadership campaign, despite many of his supporters publicly fearing that the row may have cost him the job.
With nominations for the chairman of the influential Conservative 1922 backbench committee, which will oversee the contest, closing yesterday lunchtime, it is now expected the election for the new Conservative party leader will now be held in mid-June.
With the candidates dubbed the "men in grey suits", the election for the 1922 chairman will take place today. Among the five candidates are the former cabinet minister, Mr John MacGregor, the former armed forces minister, Sir Archie Hamilton, and the right-wing Eurosceptic former minister,
Mr Edward Leigh.
For once Mr Howard and the former prisons minister, Ms Ann Widdecombe, appeared to be in agreement when they both insisted that they wanted to "draw a line" under the acrimonious row over whether he misled MPs about the sacking of a prison's chief.
"Once we have elected the leader of the party, whoever that leader is, I will once again serve utterly loyally," pledged Ms Widdecombe.
However, several of Mr Howard's supporters admitted the row may have damaged his leadership chances, fearing he has lost potential support to the other right-wingers in the race. Mr Andrew Lansley, one supporter, acknowledged that Ms Widdecombe's onslaught had "cost Michael Howard time and an opportunity to present his case.
Asked whether it had cost Mr Howard the Tory leadership, Mr Lansley, conceded; "It might prove that way. We have to wait and see."
In an attempt to reassert his Eurosceptic credentials, Mr Howard published his policy pamphlet The Future of Europe which he believes will end the Conservative party's damaging war over the issue. Calling for an end to Brussels powers over domestic issues and a limit to the application of the rulings of the European Court of Justice, Mr Howard argued that the EU's powers can create an "ugly and xenophobic backlash" in the nation-states.
"The EU was meant to end nationalism and war in Europe. But the headlong pursuit of political union could, perversely, have the opposite effect, stirring anti-European feeling among people who see democratic accountability being wrested for them," he stated.
As Mr Howard relaunched his campaign, the other contenders continued to insist they were gaining ground. Although the former chancellor, Mr Kenneth Clarke, is still being tipped to gain the most, votes in the first ballot, it is believed he Bill not gain enough to win outright because of the Eurosceptics hostility.
Earlier, the former Welsh secretary, Mr William Hague, who is the bookmakers favourite, unveiled another high-profile supporter, Mr John Maples, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party.