MR William Hague (36) appears the clear favourite to win the Conservative Party leadership after winning the endorsement of defeated rivals Mr Peter Lilley and Mr Michael Howard following an inconclusive first round ballot.
As expected, the former Chancellor, Mr Kenneth Clarke, topped the poll yesterday with 49 votes eight ahead of Mr Hague, hut well short of the margin required under the first round rules, and still needing another 34 votes for victory by a straight majority in next Tuesday's second ballot of the party's 164 MPs.
The Tory right meanwhile was thrown into instant confusion and despair after Mr John Redwood's shock emergence ahead of Mr Lilley and Mr Howard. Mr Redwood defied the pundits to come third with 27 votes, ahead of Mr Lilley on 24, and Mr Howard on 23. Eyeing that combined total of 74 right-wing votes just nine short of the necessary winning total of 83 in the second round - Mr Redwood immediately invited Mr Lilley and Mr Howard to withdraw in his support, promising that they would find him generous.
But the offer was swiftly spurned. After a huddle with his supporters, Mr Howard dealt the first blow, announcing in favour of Mr Hague, whom he had previously asked to run as his deputy on a right-wing "dream ticket". Soon after, Mr Lilley did likewise. He said his purpose in standing had been to unite the party after its election defeat, a task Mr Hague was now best placed to perform.
That left Mr Clarke facing an uphill struggle to regain the momentum provided by yesterday's vote, and his sweeping victory earlier in the consultative poll of Conservative constituency chairmen, MEPs, peers and key voluntary workers. As MPs began casting their votes, the National Union announced that Mr Clarke was the overwhelming choice of the party's grass roots. He won the support of 269 chairmen in England and Wales, as against 178 for Mr Hague, and a derisory 25, 20 and 10 respectively for Mr Redwood, Mr Lilley and Mr Hague.
The Clarke endorsement was even more emphatic in Scotland, where the chairmen backed him by 53 to 10 for Mr Hague and just two for Mr Lilley - with none backing Mr Redwood or Mr Howard. Mr Clarke, not surprisingly, clocked up all 17 votes from the party's MEPs. The overall result gave him 608 votes, with Mr Hague second on 278, Mr Lilley way behind on 84, Mr Redwood on 49 and Mr Howard on just 26.
But the Lilley/Howard initiative last night heightened the expectation of a clear divide on ideological grounds in the subsequent ballot. As the sole standard-bearer of the party left, and the party's leading Europhile. it was not clear from what constituency Mr Clarke would draw additional votes.
However his supporters will make what they can of his clear popularity with the party on the ground; the relative inexperience of Mr Hague; and the near certainty that the new leader will he forced to submit himself for ratification before the party conference in the autumn under pressure for an enlarged electoral college following the general election defeat and the party's wipe-out in Scotland and Wales.
With no certainty that Mr Lilley and Mr Howard can actually commit all their supporters, the Clarke camp will also be assessing how many on the right will transfer their allegiance to Mr Redwood - who clearly won some reward for having opposed Mr John Major in 1995 and for his outright rejection of the Single Currency.
The expectation at Westminster last night was that the scale of party divisions could prevent a conclusive outcome on the second ballot, in which case Mr Clarke and Mr Hague would fight it out in a third contest two days later, on June 19th.