KENNETH CLARKE yesterday threw the Conservative leadership race into confusion by declaring that he still wanted to be Prime Minister and would stand if he had enough support.

With MPs and leadership contenders waiting for an indication of his intentions, Mr Clarke gave them the firm impression that he is ready to run. “He is limbering up,” a senior Conservative said last night, “but he needs to know that enough of us will back him.”

Mr Clarke’s intervention came as David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, received a fresh leadership boost when Damian Green, a prominent figure on the centre-left, said that he would be backing him.

Mr Green said: “Too often we are seen as a privileged elite. Electing as leader the son of a single mother, brought up on a council estate in South London would tell the world the Conservative party has changed.”

Mr Clarke received immediate backing from another former shadow cabinet member, John Bercow, who said that he was the candidate who gave the Tories the best chance of winning at the next election.

The former Tory Chancellor said it was no secret that he wanted to be Prime Minister. The only reason he did not stand when Michael Howard became leader was that it was clear he could not win.

“I think my friends know perfectly well I’d like to be Prime Minister,” Mr Clarke said. “Last time I didn’t run because it was quite clear to me that I couldn’t win. I’ve got another couple of months in which . . . it will become clear to me whether this time I have a chance of winning.”

Asked if he would stand this time if he thought he could win, he told the Jonathan Dimbleby programme on ITV1: “If I can persuade enough people who I want to persuade to help me get there, yes.”

Mr Clarke said that he would take several weeks to decide, but his supporters will this week urge him to make up his mind quickly. They believe that the momentum building behind Mr Davis could become unstoppable if it is obvious that there is no credible alternative.

Although Mr Davis has the longest list of known supporters, there are large numbers of MPs who would not want him to get the job. Mr Clarke and David Cameron are seen by most insiders as the only contenders to stop Mr Davis.

Mr Clarke said: “If I could go back to the red boxes, the crisis, the excitement of decisions, yes I would, for the one big office that matters in politics.

“I’d also rather like to see a Conservative government. Ten years in opposition is ridiculous; we’re going to have more than that before we have a chance of winning again. So for the chance of being Prime Minister, yes, I’m still interested.

THE ODDS

David Davis 1-2
David Cameron 6-1
Ken Clarke, Malcolm Rifkind 8-1
Liam Fox 14-1
Boris Johnson 100-1

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