BRITAIN: David Cameron was last night on the edge of the decisive breakthrough that could make him Conservative leader, after fellow MPs used their first ballot to oust Kenneth Clarke from the contest.
The 39-year-old shadow education secretary came within six votes of David Davis, the official frontrunner, who polled 62.
But the Thatcherite Liam Fox, just five years Mr Cameron's senior, also claimed sufficient fresh momentum from his 42-vote share of the ballot, an achievement that threatens Mr Davis's position as the candidate of the right.
The tight result, which saw all 198 Tory MPs cast their vote, signalled a generational changing of the Tory guard, and means the end of Mr Clarke's ambitions as the last big beast of the Thatcher-Major era. It also raises the real possibility of defeat for yet another Tory frontrunner and the prospect of party activists being asked on December 5th to choose between Mr Cameron and Dr Fox.
The bulk of Mr Clarke's votes are expected to switch to Mr Cameron as candidate of the modernisers and the left, though the ex-chancellor's concession speech refrained from immediately endorsing him.
But the rival campaigns were not letting the votes go by default. In corners, bars and by phone, the struggle immediately began to woo Mr Clarke's 37 backers before the second round ballot tomorrow. Last night the former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, an also-ran in the contest who had switched to Mr Clarke, declared for Mr Cameron.
"The more I have seen of him, the more I am impressed by his ability to lead," he said.
All three surviving candidates declared themselves delighted with the result. But whereas the two younger men said they had picked up vital momentum and more votes than predicted, Mr Davis had five fewer votes than his 67 declared promises. Mr Cameron, born shortly after England's 1966 World Cup win, and MP for Witney since only 2001, was cautiously upbeat.
"It is a good result - it is better than I expected," he said.
All camps expect a lot of vote- switching in the next 24 hours as MPs abandon first-ballot promises and, on the Tory right, decide which contender can best beat Mr Cameron. That calculation may prove to be Mr Davis's Achilles heel if his slippage becomes a landslide.
"This time I came top. I'm hoping I'll come top next time," he told reporters.
"He's the choice of colleagues who know him best, his strengths and weaknesses, after 10 difficult days," one lieutenant predicted. "We will now strengthen that lead on Thursday."
But there was a clear flagging of confidence elsewhere in his camp. "David may one day reflect on the fact that all that work and effort was lost in 15 minutes," said a Davis supporter, a reference to Mr Cameron's much-praised party conference speech in Blackpool two weeks ago.
Mr Clarke again urged his rivals to follow his advice in being united, pragmatic and not obsessed with Europe. MPs had voted for "a younger leader", the 65-year-old ex-chancellor conceded.
He added: "I think I have contributed to the debate in a positive way and I hope I helped point the way to how the Conservative Party should set about trying to win an election in the future."
Dr Fox, who praised Mr Clarke's economic record, also spoke of the race "passing to the next generation".
Though the ex-GP insists he has broader appeal and an active social agenda, Dr Fox is widely seen as the "core vote" Thatcherite who cannot reach out to floating voters.
In yesterday's tactical voting some right-wing MPs almost certainly voted for Dr Fox to squeeze out their Europhile foe. - (Guardian service)