Contenders to lead Britain’s defeated Conservatives woo members at a key party conference

Members of Britain’s defeated and divided Conservative Party gathered yesterday for an annual conference dominated by the search for a new leader capable of bringing the right-of-center party back from a catastrophic election defeat.

U.K. voters ousted the Tories in a July election, leaving the party that had governed since 2010 with just 121 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. The center-left Labour Party won more than 400 seats and returned to office under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The day after the election, defeated ex- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would quit, remaining caretaker leader until his replacement is chosen.

The four candidates still in the race to replace him – whittled down by lawmakers from an initial six – will spend the four-day conference in Birmingham, central England speaking to as many party members as possible.

Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, ex-Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and ex-Security Minister Tom Tugendhat make their final pitches from the conference stage on Wednesday, before Conservative lawmakers will eliminate two candidates in a vote the following week.