FULL NAME: Liam Fox
BORN: 22 September 1961, East Kilbride
AGE: 54
EDUCATION: St Brides High School, University of Glasgow Medical School
STATUS: Married to Jesme Baird
FIRST ELECTED: 1992
CONSTITUENCY: Woodspring, North Somerset
EXPERIENCE: Government Whip 1993-6, Foreign Office Minister 1996-7, Shadow Cabinet 1998-2010 including Health, Party Chairman and Defence. Secretary of State for Defence May 2010-October 2011.
OTHER EXPERIENCE: General Practitioner 1983-92
MOST LIKELY TO SAY: “Is the flight to Washington on time?”
LEAST LIKELY TO SAY: “We’re spending far too much money on defence.”
FAMOUS QUOTES: “The era of nuclear terrorism has arrived.” “If Iran becomes a nuclear weapon state it is the end of non-proliferation as we know it.” “New Labour was the most short-sighted, self-serving, incompetent, useless, and ineffective government that Britain has ever known. Make no mistake, Labour’s economic policies were a national security liability.”
STRENGTHS: Ideological certainty, public speaking, experience, foreign policy knowledge
WEAKNESSES: Memories of his resignation, lack of public supporters among MPs
MAIN ADVISERS: David Goss
MAIN ALLIES: Robert Goodwill, Sir Gerald Howarth
LADBROKES ODDS: 100/1
SCOREBOARD
Experience: 6.8
Negotiating Skills: 6.0
Star Quality: 5.0
Likeability: 5.2
Ability to take the fight to Labour: 6.3
Economic Competence: 5.8
Intellectual Capacity: 6.6
Ability to Unite the Country: 4.5
Ability to Unite the Party: 5.3
Integrity: 5.2
Courage: 6.0
Leadership: 5.1
National Appeal: 5.2
International Experience: 6.5
OVERALL RATING OUT OF 100: 56.8
The panel scored Liam Fox fairly low compared to the other candidates. He didn’t come first in a single category but was a narrow second on international experience.
MY ANALYSIS
At the end of the 2005 leadership contest, Liam Fox had outperformed expectations. Indeed, everyone felt he was unlucky to finish third. Since his resignation as Defence Secretary on October 2011 he has played his cards well, and has been unlucky not to be recalled to the Cabinet. He also fought a good referendum and appeared the voice of sweet calmness and reason compared to the Project Fear approach of many of his colleagues.
When he first mooted he might run for the leadership most commentators imagined he might do quite well, even if he didn’t win. Unfortunately he has been overtaken by events. He planned to launch his campaign last Friday but in the end this proved impossible amid the Boris/Gove farrago. When he launched today, he disappeared beneath all the fuss about Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Farage’s resignation.
So far he has attracted only nine MPs to his cause. While he will score higher than that in the first ballot, his challenge will be enough to stay in the race.
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