Michael Portillo, the bookies' blue-hot favourite to win the Tory leadership contest, began his campaign at the weekend, addressing an audience of party members in Alresford.

First to throw his hat into the ring when William Hague resigned after a second crushing General Election defeat for the Tories, Mr Portillo is tipped to reach the second stage of the competition, along with former Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke.

Also running are right-wingers, Iain Duncan Smith and David Davis, and former party chairman, Michael Ancram.

Conservative MPs will vote next Tuesday in the first of a series of ballots which will whittle the field down to two contenders. The new leader will then be chosen by a ballot of the party membership.

Mr Portillo addressed an invited audience of around 100 members at the home of George Hollingbury, deputy chairman of the Winchester Conservative Association, on Saturday.

The press were not invited to the meeting but, speaking to the Chronicle beforehand, Mr Portillo described the Conservative Party as "in a serious condition" and said they were "pretty fed up with losing".

He added: "We can't wait for the second starting pistol. There is a lot at stake and I believe the party could even go down from where it is now if we don't make changes and adapt to new circumstances.

"We stand for lighter government with more freedom and more choice and, in each generation, we apply this principle to the new circumstances. But time has been moving on and the Conservative Party hasn't and that's what's going to change.

"People see us being passionate about Europe but they don't see us being passionate about health, education and the fight against crime. That's where we need to be."

He added: "The reason why we've been losing in places like Winchester is simply that there aren't enough Conservative voters."

After Alresford, Mr Portillo went on to address similar Tory gatherings in Bournemouth and Salisbury.