Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 2001, and the presenter was Sue Lolly. My castaway this week is a politician. He had the air and enjoyed the achievements of someone destined for success.

At the age of 16, a young face under a basin of blonde hair, he made a famously stirring speech to his party conference.

He followed this with the presidency of the Oxford Union, a first-class degree, a job with

an elite management consultancy, and then a seat in parliament. A cabinet post followed

and then when his party was humiliated at the general election of 1997 it chose him

to lead it back to glory. Earlier this year, however, dreams of glory ended.

His party suffered a second crushing defeat

and the career which had risen and glittered

evaporated overnight.

He appears to be entirely stoical. Having a major

discontinuity in life at the age of 40 is an opportunity to do things you've

always wanted to do, he says. In fact you could say I've got younger as I've got older

he's of course William Haig so you're you're leading your life backwards really

William as that's what it is well you could think of it that way I'm I've

certainly in the last few months since I gave

up the party leadership I've had the nicest time I've had for a very long time.

You're a young man with a brilliant future behind you is what they say cruelly,

yes people come up to you and say we know who you used to be.

But I'm having a very nice time and they're doing many things that I've always wanted to do.

Like what, what are these childish pleasures that your adult career precluded?

...