Tory chairman admits party message is lost at local level

The Tory party chairman admitted yesterday that not a single member of the public knew what the party's policies were ahead of the local elections this spring.

In a speech to the Conservative local government conference in Coventry, Theresa May warned that the party's own research had found that councillors were not getting their message across. Her extraordinary candour overshadowed the launch of the Tory manifesto for this May's elections and a speech by Iain Duncan Smith attacking Labour council tax rises.

Mrs May conceded that recent reports of infighting triggered by staff changes by Mr Duncan Smith were "dispiriting". She also hit back at her right-wing critics by underlining the need for the party to concentrate on helping the most vulnerable in society and bridging the gap between rich and poor. The elections were a chance for a Tory "rebirth", she said.

Her remarks about the failure of the Conservatives to inform people of their policies at a local level will trigger fresh controversy. She said: "Never assume that you have got your message across. In all of the areas where we have carried out research in recent weeks ... not one person knew what position local Conservatives were taking."

Her remarks were immediately seized on by Labour as proof that the Conservatives knew they were out of touch with the electorate.

Yesterday, one Tory councillor said: "She's done it again. First she said we were the nasty party, now we are the nothing party. If we aren't getting our message across locally maybe that's because of what's happening nationally."

In an apparent reference to Michael Portillo's savaging of Mr Duncan Smith's decision to sack Conservative Central Office staff, she said there were some in the party who were doing "everything possible to damage our chances" in the 1 May elections.

"I can only begin to imagine the frustration you feel when you have been out campaigning hard all day, but the news only carries stories about turbulence within the party at Westminster. Well I can assure you, if you find it dispiriting at times, so do I," she said.

Mr Duncan Smith will unveil the Tories' Give Us Our Money Back campaign today. He will point out that most homes will pay more than £1,000 in council tax from April.