Mr Iain Duncan Smith has finally ended the confusion about his intentions and declared himself a candidate for the Conservative leadership. The shadow defence secretary had earlier said only that he was "likely" to stand against Mr Michael Portillo after a leading supporter, Mr Bernard Jenkin, prematurely declared him in the running.
Mr Duncan Smith confirmed his candidacy and will issue a detailed statement about his leadership campaign later.
There was no such confusion about the disposition of Ms Ann Widdecombe, who declared herself set to return to the backbenches and in favour of anyone but Mr Portillo.
Only in the event of Mr Portillo being otherwise unopposed would she enter the fray, she declared. But she conceded that the lack of support from fellow MPs would probably prevent her reaching the final ballot to be put before the party's estimated 350,000 members.
"I regret very much that the Conservative membership will never have an opportunity to consider me for the position of leader despite so many of them urging me to stand," Ms Widdecombe told reporters at the Arden Estate in Hackney, east London.
Ms Widdecombe explained her chosen venue saying she would have made inner city regeneration a top priority, championing the cause of "the forgotten decents" on British housing estates with a "politically incorrect" will.
"On estates like this all over the country live huge numbers of people whom I have called the forgotten decents," said Ms Widdecombe. "They are people like us but with only a fraction of our resources, and all they want to do is live normally.
But instead their lives are made a daily hell by drugs, thuggery, intimidation and degradation of the environment."
She continued: "If we really want an inclusive, one-nation society then we need to revolutionise places like this, where mothers can't let the kids out to play without checking for needles, where gardens are wrecked and windows broken, where the vulnerable are intimidated and every agency shrugs."
But with her campaign over before it began, Ms Widdecombe's immediate mission seemed to be to stop the Portillo bandwagon.
While stressing the importance of resolving the party's divide over the euro, Ms Widdecombe again spoke of her respect for the former chancellor, Mr Kenneth Clarke.
Last week she had announced she would not serve in a shadow cabinet led by Mr Portillo. She insisted yesterday it "wasn't a question of having anything against him" so much as against "the people who surround him".
Ms Widdecombe said there was no other likely leader she could not serve.
"I would have no difficulty in principle with working for anyone else," she said.
"But after much careful thought, I have decided to return to the backbenches as soon as this contest is over."