LONDON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The four contenders for the leadership of the British Conservatives made their final pitches to parliamentarians Monday, ahead of the first round of voting.
David Cameron, Kenneth Clarke, David Davis and Liam Fox all appeared cheerful after their 20-minute appearances in front of Conservative members of Parliament, their last chance to win over the undecided before the first ballot Tuesday.
The candidate with the least number of votes will be eliminated from the competition; the remaining three will be put to a further vote Thursday. The final two will then go through to a ballot of all Conservative Party members.
Shadow Education Secretary Cameron is the bookmaker's favorite to win the overall contest, though Shadow Home Secretary Davis will likely top Tuesday's ballot as he has the most declared backers. Shadow Foreign Secretary Fox and former chancellor of the exchequer Clarke both maintain they can make it through to the final runoff.
Fox, the first candidate to address MPs, said as he left Parliament: "The Tory party will not begin to ever recover properly until we have an intellectual renaissance.
"While the front bench must be bound by collective responsibility, backbenchers must be given the freedom to roam," he told the BBC.
Clarke said as he arrived: "I'm in with a serious shout. Especially if I get to the party and the country."
Cameron said he thought his message had "gone down well," while Davis also reported a "very friendly response" from MPs.
Clarke might be "disappointed" over his stated wish for a final run-off against Cameron, he added.
At present, Davis has the declared support of 66 MPs, Cameron of 37, Clarke of 25 and Fox of 22. Around 50 Tory MPs have not yet declared how they will vote in the secret ballot.
