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Desperate David Cameron turned on his pals in the Tory old guard today in a brutal reshuffle aimed at giving his Cabinet a feminine facade.

Biggest shock is the departure of “Tory Boy” William Hague, who has been demoted from Foreign Secretary to Commons leader.

Other “big beast” casualties on a night of the long knives include Ken Clarke, Welsh Secretary David Jones Attorney General Dominic Grieve.

They are among around a dozen die-hards who are expected to make way for a raft of women the PM is tipped to bring in to fill key positions.

With the Tories struggling against Labour in the polls, Mr Cameron has been dogged by accusations of sexism

in the party heirarchy.

He was recently vilified after patronisingly telling Labour frontbencher Angela Eagle to “calm down, dear.”

His male-dominated Government has also presided over cuts to SureStart, the Health in Pregnancy grant, tax credits

and child benefit.

Now insiders say the PM is frantically trying to redress the balance with a savage cull he hopes will give him a new “right on” public image.

Among those tipped for top jobs are Education Minister Liz Truss, Treasury minister Nicky Morgan and Welfare Minister Esther McVey, who is predicted to take Mr Clarke’s brief.

Others in line for possible promotion are right-winger Priti Patel, rising star Penny Mordaunt, Harriet Baldwin

and Amber Rudd.

Further changes could see Eric Pickles moved from the Department for Communities and Local Government and Owen Paterson axed as Environment Secretary.

But prominent female MPs dismissed the reshuffle as a “big con”.

Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities Gloria de Piero said: “He can’t wipe away four years of policies that have

hurt women with a quick shake up of government faces.”

Labour frontbencher Angela Smith added: “David Cameron’s last-minute attempt to put a female-friendly spin on his government is not going to fool anybody.

"If he was really interested in promoting women he would have done so years ago. This is too little, too late.”

Other departures so far include Owen Paterson (Environment), Andrew Lansley (Leader of the House) Damian Green (Police), David Willetts (Universities Minister), Greg Barker (Climate Change) Stephen Hammond (Rail), Alan Duncan (International Development), Andrew Robathan (Northern Ireland) and Nick Hurd (Cabinet Office).

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Mr Hague, 53 – who famously gave a speech to the party’s 1977 conference when he was just 16 – already intended to quit as an MP at the next election.

Announcing that he was “stepping aside” he said: “In government there is a balance to strike between experience on the one hand and the need for renewal on the other.”

He said he would now be concentrating his efforts on ensuring the Tories are returned to power. Mr Cameron described him as one of the “leading lights” of the party, adding: “He has also been a close confidante, a wise counsellor and a great friend.”

But as the blood-letting went on, it was rumoured that Iain Duncan Smith could stay as Work and Pensions Secretary – despite the bedroom tax and universal credit fiasco.

Pro-European Mr Clarke, 74, left with a parting shot at the PM – warning he would campaign “vigorously” to keep Britain in the EU if there is a referendum in 2017.

After 34 years on the frontbench, he said had been “doing red boxes at night for a high proportion of my adult life”.

In a letter to Mr Cameron he said: “There are plenty of other able people who could take on the work that I was doing in Government and I think the time has come to return to being a veteran backbencher.”

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Former Tory Deputy PM Lord Heseltine said Mr Clarke’s exit showed just how out of touch the party is.

He added: “If Ken Clarke is out of sync with the modern Tory party, the modern Tory party has got big problems.”

Today’s Cabinet meeting has been cancelled to allow Mr Cameron to complete the ministerial changes.

Stephen Crabb, the son of a single mum who grew up on a council estate, is expected to be among the big winners.

He could take over from David Jones as Welsh Secretary as the PM desperately tries to shake of the charge that the Government is run by “posh boys who don’t know the price of milk”.

But with the expected influx of women into the Cabinet, Mr Cameron faced a backlash from male MPs tonight, with one saying they were being overlooked for “Cameron’s cuties.”

George Osborne is expected to use the reshuffle to boost his chances of succeeding Mr Cameron as Tory chief.

Key allies of the Chancellor are set for promotion – with loyal lieutenant Greg Hands tipped for a plum post.

But a Labour spokesman said: “It doesn’t matter how Cameron shuffles the Tory deck he is still the Prime Minister who always puts the privileged few before hard-working families.

“It is he, as PM, who is responsible for making families £1,600 worse off, not his hapless Cabinet, whoever is in it.”

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw on Ken Clarke "He was a rare voice of sanity on Europe in today’s Tory Party"

A number of Labour MPs regretted the departure of Mr Clarke – one of the few remaining pro-Europeans in the Cabinet. Ben Bradshaw said: “Sorry to see Ken Clarke leave Government.

"He was a rare voice of sanity on Europe in today’s Tory Party.”

There was mixed news for the Tories in the polls tonight.

An ICM survey had them up three points to 34 points with Labour on 33 and the Lib Dems on 12. But Lord Ashcroft’s poll had the Conservatives on 32, Labour 36 and Lib Dems 7.

Labour’s shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Gloria de Piero, said there were more bald men in the Cabinet than women.

She added: “David Cameron just doesn’t understand that a Government that doesn’t look or sound like Britain cannot truly speak for Britain.

“With less than a year to go women are still being shut-out of decision-making and are under-represented around the top table of this Government. There haven’t been so few women members of the Cabinet in almost twenty years.

“With more women MPs than the Tories and Lib Dems combined and women candidates in fifty four per cent of our target seats, Labour’s shown that it is possible to change politics, you just need the will to do it.”

(Image: Getty)

Meanwhile an ally of David Cameron has claimed Theresa May would make a bad Tory leader - because she does not have children.

The Home Secretary is favourite to replace Mr Cameron among the party faithful.

But a Downing Street aide said Ms May would turn off voters in a general election because her lack of a family life makes her look odd.

The callous remarks will do fresh damage to relations between the Prime Minister and Ms May.

She has spoken about her sense of loss at not having children in the past.

Mr Cameron is expected to stand down halfway through the new Parliament even if the Conservatives retain power.