Why William Hague is a stupid idiot First of all he changed the way the leader of the Conservative Party is elected from a vote of parliamentary members to that of the wider membership The leader of the parliamentary party should be solely determined by members of the parliamentary party It should not have been determined by the wider membership a vast of majority of whom are not even in elected office Second of all he decided to take on the leadership so soon after the party s 1997 defeat Politically it would have been wise for him to have let the more experienced Ken Clarke become leader and waited things out If he had waited then he and not David Cameron would be leader now Hence why William Hague is a stupid idiot