Duncan Smith, Iain

British Conservative politician, party leader 2001–03. The candidate of the party's Eurosceptic and socially conservative right wing, he was selected in September 2001 by the party's members to replace leader William Hague, who stood down after the party suffered a second successive general election defeat. Duncan Smith sought to unite the party around a programme of opposition to the UK joining the European single currency, and of reforms in domestic policies, including greater citizen choice in education and health. He was replaced as party leader by Michael Howard.

During Duncan Smith's leadership the party made some advances in local elections, but his own public approval ratings remained low and he failed to make an impact in parliamentary debates, despite Prime Minister Tony Blair's difficulties during 2003 over opposition to the US-led war against Iraq. In October 2003 he was ousted as party leader after losing, by 90 votes to 75, a vote of confidence among fellow Conservative MPs in his leadership. After losing office, in 2003 he set up the Centre for Social Justice, a centre-right think tank on inner-city issues.