BIRMINGHAM, England, Oct 3, (AP): The four contenders to lead Britain’s Conservative Party took turns in the spotlight on Wednesday, each claiming to be the one who can lead the right-of-center party back from a catastrophic election defeat.

Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, ex-Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and ex-Security Minister Tom Tugendhat each made impassioned speeches aimed at persuading party members that they have what it takes to turn around public opinion, trounce the Labour Party of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and return the Conservatives to power at the next election, due by 2029.

That’s a tall order. After years of division, scandal and economic tumult, UK voters comprehensively rejected 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.

Jenrick, a former centrist who has shifted to the right with tough talk on migration, and the energetic libertarian Badenoch are considered the front-runners, though Cleverly's upbeat appeal for unity went down well with delegates in the auditorium.

An initial field of six candidates was whittled down by Conservative lawmakers to four before the conference. Legislators will eliminate two more in voting next week. Party members across the country will then vote to pick a winner, who will be announced Nov 2.

The candidates agreed that they want a smaller state and a more vibrant economy and that they all revere the late Margaret Thatcher, whose 11 years in power transformed the UK. They differed on how far to emulate Reform U.K., the hard-right, anti-immigrant party led by populist politician Nigel Farage.