ONCE, even William Hague's wrists made political statements. His cuffs were held together by a silver pound or a royal blue map of the British Isles.

But yesterday, as he breezed through the marginals of the Tees Valley, his cufflinks contained no more than an elaborate monogram of his initials.

"No political significance should be read into that," he laughed. "On the other side, they say FFH, my wife's initials. If anything, it just means I'm missing her."

Yet, on the other side, his cufflinks may suggest the Richmond MP, whose obsession with politics started when he was 13, is no longer quite so entirely absorbed by it.

For example, of the problems of first-time home-buyers he said fairly: "Both main parties are advocating more shared equity schemes in their manifestos, which can help."

When Conservative leader in 2001, he said that Britain would be a foreign land if Tony Blair was given another four years.

Yesterday he conceded: "I wouldn't put it in the same way now, but we certainly have adopted more European regulations and we have the EU Constitution on the table, so we are moving in the direction of more government from outside this country.

"There probably is a more moderate way to put it."

Yesterday's visits to Guisborough, Yarm and Tynemouth took him to his 33rd constituency of the campaign.

From all, he reports a movement to the Tories. But - unlike when as leader, and faced by the most awful polls, he persisted to maintain he would win - he says he is unable to quantify how much.

In his own North Yorkshire constituency, though, "the whole community is in uproar" over the Conservative council's plans to sell up in Richmond and rebuild in Colburn.

A public meeting was cancelled because so many turned out to protest.

"I haven't come across that before in my 16 years as MP, and it is sending the council a very clear message," he said.

He is urging the council to reconsider its financing of the move or reconsider the move altogether.

Such are the joys of being a local MP.

He would obviously welcome a return to the front-bench - "but I'm not haggling for it". Anyway, there's a follow-up to his biography of William Pitt to consider, possibly about anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce.

"It is utterly all-consuming being party leader," he said.

"In a way, the whole four years was a blur, but I'm very much enjoying this election. It reminds my of my favourite election of 1992 when I just stuck to Richmond.

"Nobody came to help me, I was on my own with local supporters and won a 23,000 majority."

He declines to predict the outcome of this election.

"The war is a factor in the disaffection of Labour voters, not surprisingly leading some of them to vote Liberal," he said.

"I think in most cases it is not determining how people vote."

Then his analysis turned: "But it is part of this overall theme of loss of trust.

"The thing that most shocked me in the whole of the last Parliament was that the entire House of Commons was elected on the basis that no party would introduce top-up student fees.

"And then the House votes within a year to do so. How can I go around the schools and colleges in my constituency telling them to engage in democracy when their vote doesn't count anymore?

"More than anything else, that has been the most brazen breach of trust of the electorate."

In his bass Yorkshire voice, he rolled the word "brazen" like thunder across the dales and you realise that, when roused, he still wears his heart on his sleeve.