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Tory leader will turn against mentor Tebbit

Andrew Grice
Thursday 10 October 2002 00:00 BST
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Iain Duncan Smith will accuse the Tories' old guard of "living in the past" today and warn his party it must change to survive as a political force.

In his closing speech to the Tory conference in Bournemouth, Mr Duncan Smith will nail his colours to the mast of modernisation by saying the party must now "move on" from its 18 years in power under Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

In what has been seen as a make-or-break speech for the Conservative leader, he will adopt a high-risk strategy by praising as "excellent" the hard-hitting conference address by the Tory chairman, Theresa May, who said the Tories must stop being seen as "the nasty party". She came under fire yesterday from Lord Tebbit, Mr Duncan Smith's political mentor and predecessor as MP for Chingford.

Mr Duncan Smith will make clear his frustration that the conference took place against a backdrop of revelations about John Major's affair with Edwina Currie, Jeffrey Archer's spell in prison and criticism of the leader by Tory heavyweights including Kenneth Clarke.

"The party that I lead will live in the present and prepare for the future," he will say. "So to those who want to refight the battles of the past, and to those who want to live in the past, I simply say this: you stay in the past, we are moving on."

Allies hope today's speech will be a defining moment that will quell speculation that Mr Duncan Smith will be ousted as Tory leader before the next general election.

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