The boy Blair (Euan, pictured), is exhibiting chilling evidence of an unhealthy svengali influence. Guido remembers as a 14 year old tragically nursing a few bristles, before growing the luxurious affair you see above.

Leave it Euan.

His Fedora is formally thrown in the ring via the traditional Tory device of an interview with the Daily Mail.

KC’s slogan is going to be “Its Time to Win.” His pisspoor campaign website is up at www.kenclarke.co.uk

Odds on KC to win have been slashed from 10/1 to 5/1, after thousands of pounds in bets were made by punters this weekend.

In a letter to the Torygraph six former chairmen and presidents of the National Convention – the Tory party’s ruling body – say the proposals to return the decisive vote to MPs are undemocratic and should be rejected.

It will be interesting to see if the wider Tory membership loathes Ken Clarke as much as the journalistic consensus reckons – Guido suspects not. Now he has confessed the error of his ways on the Euro they will be more likely to forgive his apostasy and be willing to have him lead them to the promised land of government.

Research says journalists read blogs.

Guido has taken to putting excerpts of his hit-logs in the bottom right column, just so the next time somebody at the Guardian claims (after they have lifted a story without attribution) that they have never read the blog… well you be the judge.

The weblogs show that skiving lawyers, investment bankers, journos and public sector “workers” are the majority of readers. (Incidentally, would the avid blog-reader from South East of England Development Agency please just stop working altogether – the South East of England is over-developed.)

Guido counts only twenty-one Tory MPs to have so far declared that they think the next leader should have to win the confidence of rank-and-file members. This democratic imperative may seem like a trifling detail to some Tory MPs, but it is obvious to those of us in the 21st century.

Apparently only to Michael Ancram MP, Douglas Carswell MP, William Cash MP, Nadine Dorries MP, Iain Duncan Smith MP, Michael Gove MP, John Hayes MP, Andrew Lansley MP, Edward Leigh MP, Barry Legg MP, Julian Lewis MP, Theresa May MP, Owen Paterson MP, Mike Penning MP, Andrew Rosindell MP, Richard Shepherd MP, Bob Spink MP, Ed Vaizey MP, Angela Watkinson MP, Ann Widdecombe MP and David Willetts MP.

No word from the rest… apart from Ken Clarke, who definitely doesn’t want to lead the party if members have a say in it.

UPDATE: Liam Fox says he is against the reforms. So 22 MPs are against them – any more names readers?