This is the Guardian. A surrely upbeat and optimistic Conservative conference ended on Wednesday with all four leadership

candidates giving their big pitch.

The country just voted for change and all we've got is more managed decline.

We need to choose someone to lead us who has already done their apprenticeship.

We all know that this country cannot afford labor.

You can't afford labor, I can't afford labor.

An opportunity to make Angie uncomfortable, to make Rachel Riggle and make Stormers sweat.

There was still no real sense of a party honestly looking in its predicament.

Instead, many of the most popular lines were all about staying defiant and proudly true to Tory values.

Two things are still very unclear. Who's going to win this contest and how the Tories will even start to recover.

I'm John Harris and you'll listen to Politics Weekly UK for The Guardian.

Joining me today at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham is Kiran Stacy,

the Guardian's political correspondent. Hello is Kiran Stacy, the Guardian's political

correspondent. Hello, Kiran. Hey John. I should make it clear we're in this very

strange sort of airlock, a very small room in this quite bizarre convention

centre and mere yards away there are people taking down

all the paraphernalia or a conference very loudly that's what the banging is

yeah either that or they're executing the failed leadership candidates behind that door.

Well that brings us neatly onto our next subject.

We've just heard the four candidates for leader, Tom Tuggenhapp, James Cleverly,

Robert Genrick and Kimmy Badenock in that order.

They were all on the main stage making their case.

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