Editing Michael Howard (section)

===Resignation===
Despite his impending resignation following the 2005 general election, Howard performed a substantial reshuffle of the party's front bench in which several rising star MPs were given their first shadow portfolios, including [[George Osborne]] and [[David Cameron]]. This move cleared the way for David Cameron (who had worked for Howard as a Special Advisor when the latter was Home Secretary) to run for the Conservative Party leadership.

The reforms to the party's election process took several months and Howard remained in his position for six months following the election. During that period, he enjoyed a fairly pressure-free time, often making joking comparisons between himself and [[Tony Blair]], both of whom had declared they would not stand at the next general election. He also oversaw Blair's first parliamentary defeat, when the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats and sufficient [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] rebels voted against [[Terrorism Act 2006|government proposals to extend to 90 days the period that terror suspects could be held for without charge]]. Howard stood down as Leader in December 2005 and was replaced by David Cameron.