Clarke,Duncan Smith and Hague is the deputy-This mornings shadow cabinet speculation

With so much speculation around who is coming back into the shadow cabinet,this mornings article in the Sun makes interesting reading.

Its leader concludes that

William Hague is deputy Tory chief in all but name, David Cameron tells The Sun.
The ex-party leader now ranks above Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, previously seen as Mr Cameron’s number two.
This is a clever move. Mr Hague is the most experienced, articulate and effective member of the Tory high command.
More important, his new status places a Yorkshire lad near the top of a party otherwise dominated by Old Etonians.

and as James Forsyth says at Coffee House

Over Christmas, William Hague’s standing in the party and David Cameron’s authority took a beating from reports that the shadow foreign secretary was prepared to resign rather than give up his outside interests. Today’s joint Cameron-Hague interview in The Sun can be seen as an attempt to move on from that

More speculation comes from Ben Brogan who has had a tip off

that Iain Duncan Smith is about to be brought back to the Shadow Cabinet to take on James Purnell.

Meanwhile Iain Martin reflects that

The danger for the Tory leadership is that this reshuffle speculation is now running all over the place and that if very little happens, and less recognisable members of the shadow cabinet who are not even household names in their own household are merely swapped for others in a half hearted fashion, the cry will go up of "damp squib".

Are the Tories planning a shadow cabinet clear out?

Over at Conservative Home there is a discussion going on about possible Shadow cabinet reshuffles.The Mail's Ben Brogan appears to have started the debate by saying that only seven of the members are safe,George Osborne, William Hague, Chris Grayling, David Davis, Michael Gove, Andrew Lansley and Patrick McLoughlin.

However Conservative home doesn't agree,claiming that 18 are in fact safe.In fact it would be better to list those that aren't

Peter Ainsworth, Cheryl Gillan, Theresa May, Andrew Mitchell, David Mundell, Eric Pickles, David Willetts and Theresa Villiers.

Interestingly though as Chris Paul points out the first comment has other ideas

At the risk of becoming very boring, I do think that DC would be wrong to retain George Osborne as shadow chancellor. I agree he deserves a top job and is a very good politician but the economy is too important a portfolio to leave in the hands of someone who (as far as I know) has neither the relevant experience nor training for it.

says David Belchamber,

John Redwood also gets a fair amount of mention.

Let's wait and see