Bonfire of the moderates: Cameron shifts Tories firmly to the right

By Ian Dunt

David Cameron switched off the life support machine of One Nation Conservatism last night, as he culled the remaining moderates in senior government positions.

The announcement by William Hague that he would leave his Foreign Office brief and step down as an MP in the 2015 election led the news reports, but behind the scenes the prime minister appeared to be singling out centrist Tories for replacement by younger, predominantly female MPs.

Among the moderate sacrifices of the reshuffle were:

Ken Clarke, minister without portfolio
Dominic Grieve, attorney general
Sir George Young, chief whip
Alan Duncan, international development minister
David Willetts, universities minister

The departure of Clarke and Grieves removes the last obstacle to the dismantling of some of Britain's human rights protections, which has long been demanded by Tory backbenchers.

Former director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer tweeted: "Removal of Ken Clarke and Dominic Grieve from Cabinet paves way for a Conservative assault on human rights. Robust Labour defence needed."

Cameron faced one of the biggest rebellions of his career in January when nearly 100 of his MPs voted to curb the power of judges to block deportation where foreign criminals have a family link to Britain.

He also made Britain's relationship with the European court of human rights a centrepiece of his European election strategy later in the year.

Clarke and Grieves had long held out against any moves in that area and it remains a deal-breaker for the Liberal Democrats.

But with the two remaining Tory obstacles to reform gone, Cameron is likely to make wide-ranging reform of Britain's human rights commitments a centrepiece of his manifesto in 2015.

Clarke's remarkable career included positions as paymaster general, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, secretary of state for health, secretary of state for education, home secretary, chancellor of the exchequer, lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice and minister without portfolio.

Clarke always spoke his mind, not least when he challenged Theresa May's claims about human rights law in a public spat at the 2011 Tory party conference.

Duncan was considered one of the most socially liberal senior Tories. He recently led arguments against backbench MPs demanding an end to the 0.7% target for international development spending.

He was the first openly gay Tory member of parliament, is considered a key moderniser and was once described as the "liberal, urbane face of the Conservative party".

One of the chapters of his book, Saturn's Children, argued for the legalisation of all drugs, although he removed it to spare the blushes of the Tory leadership. The chapter was published on his personal website although it was later deleted.

Also on the way out was Willetts, known as 'two brains' for his formidable intellectual abilities.

Willetts was once considered the "real father of Cameronism", back when the Tory leader was seen as a centrist himself.

His ideas of civic conservatism were seen by some in the party as a way of articulating a Tory philosophy which was more appealing than Margaret Thatcher's insistence that there is "no such thing as society".

David Jones, Welsh minister, was also sacked in the reshuffle. The young MP recently argued gay couples could "clearly" provide "a warm and safe environment for the upbringing of children".

If the rumours of Philip Hammond becoming foreign secretary turn out to be true, that would also be seen as a rightward shift at the Foreign Office.

Although both Hammond and Hague are eurosceptics, Hammond is the only one to have openly contemplated life outside of the EU. His appointment will please eurosceptics on the Tory backbenches.