People are not going to give the government the benefit of the doubt again so there is a great opportunity for the Conservative Party

William Hague

The North Yorkshire MP has kept a low profile since resigning in the immediate aftermath of the general election last June.

He says the Tories still face a "great task" as they strive for a political recovery after two overwhelming election defeats.

New opportunities

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said he would decline any current offer to rejoin the shadow cabinet, although he did not rule out a return to frontline politics "far in the future".

Mr Hague argued new chances were opening up in the Tories' second term of opposition.

"The reason there is a different situation is that people were giving the government the benefit of the doubt about things like public services at the time of the last general election last year," he said.

Blair's government is losing public trust, says Hague

"They are not going to give them the benefit of the doubt again so there is a great opportunity for the Conservative Party.

"Iain Duncan Smith is taking that opportunity and is going to show what the Conservative Party is going to do in that area and he is right to do so."

Mr Hague said a different climate had emerged because the transport system was "disintegrating" while the NHS was "deteriorating, not improving".

Despite his positive outlook on Conservative prospects, Mr Hague said there was much still to do.

"There remains a great task, Iain knows that as much as anyone else," he said.

"I struggled with that and did a lot that I hope laid the foundations for recovery."

Same beliefs

Some commentators have pointed to a new Tory emphasis on being a more "caring" party, but Mr Hague said his party had always adopted such an approach.

The framework of Conservative beliefs was the same, he argued, but new leaders should develop different tones and emphases.

Mr Duncan Smith is being urged to give an apology to a north London hospital after he complained in the Commons about the way it treated a 94-year-old patient.

Speaking later on BBC Breakfast, Mr Hague defended his successor for raising a constituent's concerns.

Mr Duncan Smith had been given the facts by the people concerned, he said, and individuals were usually more accurate than "bureaucracy".