The Tory leader, Mr William Hague, unveiled the "new talented faces" of his opposition front bench team yesterday, in a shadow cabinet reshuffle designed to meet the challenge from New Labour head-on.
Announcing the appointment of younger, keener, some would say politically hungrier, members to his team, Mr Hague's choices shift the balance of the shadow cabinet towards a more right-wing Eurosceptic position, reflecting his own thinking on Europe. However, he was helped in this regard by the departure of the left-wing former shadow education secretary, Mr Stephen Dorrell, and the shadow international development secretary, Sir Alastair Goodlad.
The former shadow home secretary, Sir Brian Mawhinney, also stepped down after many years in front-bench posts, including Northern Ireland minister. In the key appointments, the former shadow chancellor, Mr Peter Lilley, becomes the party's head of policy and the Conservatives' first deputy party leader since the days of Lord Whitelaw. And in a straightforward swap for Mr Lilley, Mr Francis Maude, who is seen as a safe pair of hands by the Tories, takes up the shadow chancellor's position.
In a politically astute move and one that will prove a combative appointment, the former prisons minister, Ms Anne Widdecombe, is parachuted in from the back benches to take up the post of shadow health secretary. While serving as prisons minister in the previous government, she famously clashed with her former boss, Mr Michael Howard, who was then Home Secretary, whom she described as having "something of the night" in him. Ms Widdecombe will now face the prospect of a weekly clash in the Commons with the Health Secretary, Mr Frank Dobson, where she will no doubt harry him about the government's record on the increasing number of people on the health service waiting list. Mr David Willetts becomes employment spokesman and Mr Gary Streeter takes up the post of foreign affairs spokesman, while the shadow foreign secretary, Mr Michael Howard, remains in his post after a series of outstanding performances during the arms-to-Sierra Leone affair.
The new constitutional affairs spokesman is Dr Liam Fox and deputy chief whip is Mr Peter Ainworth (37), who is six months younger than Mr Hague. Mr Hague is hoping that with five new faces in his team, including a number that have a reputation as tough political fighters, the party can begin the process of rebuilding itself and continue to expose mistakes and score successes over the government, as it did on the Sierra Leone issue.
With Mr Hague admitting "there have been big changes . . . it was time for new faces", he is issuing an explicit warning to his colleagues that their performance to date has not been good enough and that the government has been given an easy first year in office.
PA adds: The reshuffle was something of a surprise at Westminster with the new team expected to be announced after Mr Blair carries out his own shake-up - probably in July.
Mr Hague rejected suggestions that the changes were a response to the latest opinion poll setback - MORI's poll in the Times last week which showed the Tories slipping from 27 to 26 per cent support.