IF the Conservatives learned anything from their General Election defeat it was that they could not rely solely on their core supporters for electoral success.

It is on this inescapable fact they must reflect when they embark on choosing their next leader.

They must broaden their minds and pick a leader who, not only suits them, but also suits the country.

Sadly, the method they have chosen to select a party leader works against them.

It is the current crop of Conservative MPs, with an in-built right-wing Euro-sceptic majority, who will decide the two candidates who will go before the party's rank-and-file membership.

Effectively, that may rule out Kenneth Clarke's chances. Yet he is by far the most popular and most respected Conservative politician in the country.

He is the one person who can lead the Conservatives back from oblivion. And yet, ironically, he is unlikely to gather more than token support from either his colleagues at Westminster or the 300,000 party members in the constituencies.

Of the candidates who have come forward so far, only Michael Portillo is a well-known national figure. But respected he is not.

Iain Duncan Smith and Davis Davies are barely known outside Westminster and unlikely at this stage to present an effective alternative to Labour.

And Michael Ancram, party chairman under William Hague, will find it difficult to shake off responsibility for this month's humiliating rout at the polls.

Over the coming weeks the Conservatives must come to terms with the reality that they are no longer the natural party of Government.

They must shake off their obsession with Europe and come to terms with the reality that the British public is not as obsessed with Europe as they are.

By adopting a sensible and mature approach to Europe, which accepts that opinions differ on Britain's future role in Europe, it should be possible to begin to bring the disparate wings of the party together.

Under those circumstances, and with Mr Clarke at the helm, the Conservatives have a chance of breaking out of the political wilderness and mounting serious challenge to Labour at the next General Election.