'The living dead' ponder their future after backing wrong horse in leadership contest

At Westminster, they have been cruelly dubbed "the living dead". The 11 Shadow Cabinet colleagues who supported Michael Portillo in the Tory leadership race look dazed and in a state of shock after his surprise defeat.

Their careers in frontline politics may have come to a sudden end. Most are unlikely to be included in the new team formed by either Iain Duncan Smith or Kenneth Clarke when one of them is anointed Tory leader on 12 September.

Several may escape the sack by following their chosen leader and walking away. Francis Maude, the shadow Foreign Secretary and Mr Portillo's campaign manager, told friends: "I am starting the rest of my life."

Other Portillistas who may quit the front bench include Archie Norman, the shadow Environment Secretary and former Asda boss, who may resume a business career. But some fellow MPs think he could be tempted back by the offer of a senior job.

Casualties who may jump before being pushed are Tim Yeo, the Conservative agriculture spokesman, although Mr Clarke might offer him a new post; Theresa May, the education spokeswoman; and David Heathcoat-Amory, a Eurosceptic who is unlikely to want to serve under Mr Clarke.

More intriguing are the prospects of those who might offer their services to the incoming leader. David Willetts, dubbed "two-brains", might find his intellect and policy ideas deployed by Mr Clarke but might not be forgiven by the Duncan Smith camp for backing Mr Portillo. The same fate may await Andrew Mackay, the spokesman on Northern Ireland. In contrast, Liam Fox, the shadow Health Secretary, might have better prospects under Mr Duncan Smith.

Oliver Letwin, Mr Portillo's deputy in the Tory Treasury team, is seen as a rising star but is likely to rise higher under Mr Duncan Smith than Mr Clarke.

Friendships and rivalries will also enter the equation. Mr Clarke is unlikely to forgive Stephen Dorrell, a prominent Tory moderate who tried to forge a Portillo-Clarke alliance, but he might be more conciliatory towards Damian Green, the environment spokesman, for defecting to the Portillo camp.

Michael Ancram, the former Tory chairman who backed Mr Duncan Smith after being eliminated from the contest, would also be shunned by Mr Clarke, who was furious not to have won his support.

Whoever wins, there will be a very different Shadow Cabinet in September. Others who will depart are William Hague; Mr Portillo himself; Ann Widdecombe, the shadow Home Secretary, and Angela Browning, the shadow Commons leader. They will likely be joined by James Arbuthnot, the Tory Chief Whip. This will force the new leader to bring in several new faces or "retreads" who may have thought their days in frontline politics were over.