Still smarting from a third electoral defeat, Conservatives gathered in sullen mood this week in Blackpool-hardly the most inspiring place to contemplate renewal. Party members knew they had a week of auditions to sit through for the role of leader of the party, and that most of the candidates would tell them that they had to change, or die. For many, death seemed preferable. Fully 44% of people identifying themselves as Tory voters told a Populus poll for the Times that Britain would be better off if the Conservatives were replaced by a new right-of-centre party, an increase of 15 percentage points on this time last year. Which makes it odd that this year's conference turned out to be optimistic and energetic-exciting, even. The speeches of the five candidates to be the party's next leader breathed a whiff of revival into the hall. They even gave depressed Tories an inkling that they might at last have the beginnings of a winning team.
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