A mountain to climb
And some Tories won’t stop stamping on John Major’s fingers
THE teeth were gritted; the irritation intense. But he spat it out: “I'd vote for Neil Hamilton in Tatton,” said John Major at his press conference on April 9th. The previous night, in the Cheshire constituency, local Tories had confirmed Mr Hamilton as their candidate against Martin Bell, a television war reporter, who is standing on an anti-sleaze ticket with Labour and probably Liberal Democrat support. He may be joined by an independent Tory candidate, making Mr Hamilton's defeat likely. But the loss of usually solid Tatton is the least of Mr Major's worries.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “A mountain to climb”
From the April 12th 1997 edition
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