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IDS: Let's move on
By Charles Reiss, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 10.10.02
Iain Duncan Smith today delivered a stark warning to the dissidents in his own party - and to his official political foe, Tony Blair: "Never underestimate the determination of a quiet man."
In a conference speech widely seen as the most serious test of his leadership yet, he confronted his Tory critics and the potential leadership rivals lurking in the wings.
His message to them and to the party's old guard, headed by former cabinet minister Lord Tebbit, was clear: "This country has moved on and so must we."
He threw his full backing behind the controversial message from party chairman Theresa May, who angered many of the rank and file by saying the Tories were seen as the "nasty party", describing her speech as excellent.
He said that while the party in power had done many good things, "beyond this hall people too often remember the hurt we caused and the anger they felt".
He also ditched the John Major era and the catastrophic election defeat in which it ended, declaring: "Until people see that our party has learned the lessons of 1997, we will go on getting the result of 1997. To those who want to re-fight 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.'"
Mr Duncan Smith also sought to turn the tables on those in his own party and in the Labour Party who had mocked and attacked him for his low-key approach. "Those who do not know me yet will come to understand this," he declared. "When I say a thing, I mean it. When I set myself a task, I do it. When I settle on a course, I stick to it. Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man."
The attack on the traditional wing turned personal with suggestion that their most outspoken standard-bearer, Lord Tebbit, might be thrown out of the party.
Some members of the shadow cabinet were said to be urging Mr Duncan-Smith to stage a showdown with the 71-year-old. The speculation over Lord Tebbit's future intensified today after Ms May refused to say whether he might have the party whip withdrawn.
Questioned on the BBC's Today programme, she repeatedly sidestepped the point but said: "For those who want to carry on living in the past, they may choose to do that. But the party has to move on."
Aides to the Conservative leader said, however, that he would not pick on individuals. Mr Duncan Smith set five "bold objectives" for his leadership. They included an education system in which no child is left behind; a health service in which no patient is left waiting; the reversal of the conveyor belt that draws young people into crime; an end to insecurity in old age; and a society in which every person has a worthwhile part to play.
