RULING Conservative leaders were in disarray last night with chairman Jeremy Hanley further sidelined as Chancellor Kenneth Clarke revealed he did not bring him in on the surprise decision to raise interest rates by half a per cent.
Mr Hanley, who earlier denied he was going to resign over his weekend gaffe when he called a riot at a boxing match 'exuberance', was left having to put back the heavily publicised launch of the party's conference agenda admitting he had not been told of the interest rate move.
The Conservative Central Office was inundated with calls from party workers furious at the first rate rise in five years.
Mr Hanley admitted that he had not been consulted about the rise, but described the move as a 'courageous act by a courageous Chancellor'.
Mr Clarke's decision, which he said was aimed at stamping out underlying inflation in the British economy, was greeted with horror by industry.
The British Chamber of Commerce said it would 'sabotage the economy', while the Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry, Howard Davies, said it was an 'unusual move' given that there was no strong pressure for such a measure in the City.
