BRITAIN: A battle for the leadership of Britain's Conservative Party got under way yesterday as two contenders launched bids to challenge Tony Blair's centre-left Labour Party for power.
Battered by three straight election defeats since 1997, the party that dominated 20th century British politics with figures such as Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher is preparing to choose its fifth leader in eight years.
Next week's annual gathering of party members promises to be a beauty contest of candidates and critics warn the party risks getting bogged down with internal wrangling, rather than finding a strategy to woo voters in the next election, expected in 2009.
"I could imagine an atmosphere of speculation and plotting which could make the conference quite inward looking," said Neil Carter, politics lecturer at York University.
That would contrast starkly with the Labour Party conference this week when Mr Blair and heir apparent Gordon Brown set out an agenda of reform for coming years.
Since the Conservatives' May defeat - when they gained only about 33 per cent of votes - the party has floundered. Michael Howard said he would quit straight after the vote and the leadership contest will drag on until the end of the year.
Analysts say the Tories must transform their image, widen their appeal and claw back the political centre ground from Mr Blair to have any hope of winning.
"They have to do what Labour did under Blair in the 1990s," said Carter. "It's about policies and creating an image that doesn't represent a narrow social group." Frontrunner David Davis, a rightwinger, pledged deep change and vowed not to swerve further to the right.
"The modern Conservative Party must have the courage to commit itself to radical change," he said. "Only this commitment can change the system, meet the challenges of the modern world and turn Britain in the right direction." His main challenger is former finance minister Kenneth Clarke who has the benefit of being a household name in the electorate at large, unlike his rivals.
A YouGov poll earlier this month showed Mr Clarke had most support among party members. He is widely seen as a big-hitter who could inflict damage on Mr Blair and, crucially, Mr Brown.
Young moderniser David Cameron (38), who also joined the race yesterday, promised transformation. "This party has got to look and feel and talk and sound like a completely different organisation," he said.