A RELIGIOUS ceremony conducted by Muslim and Jewish leaders alongside Christian clergy opened the Conservative conference in Bournemouth yesterday.

Readings from the Koran, a Jewish song and traditional Christian hymns were supposed to show how the party was changing to match multi-cultural Britain.

For a moment, normal service was resumed as party chairman Theresa May opened her speech by dutifully denouncing Labour's failure to deliver on its promises. But then it became clear she was serving her harshest words for an attack on her own party, from the top right down to the grassroots.

Attacking past leaderships, she said: "The Conservative Party, its principles, its people, have been let down in recent years by the failure of some to represent faithfully the best in Conservatism."

Attacking the grassroots members, she said: "Our base is too narrow and so, occasionally are our sympathies. Some people call us the nasty party."

And finally, attacking politics in general, she powerfully reminded delegates they had to face a "deeply uncomfortable truth - one that has been reinforced by what we have been reading in every newspaper over the past two weeks.

"The public are losing faith in politics," she said. "In recent years, a number of politicians have behaved disgracefully and then compounded their offences by trying to evade responsibility."

She said the public disillusionment was personified by the election earlier this year of H'Angus the Monkey as Mayor of Hartlepool.

"Those who do vote," said Mrs May, "think a man dressed as a monkey is more likely to deliver on his election pledges than any party."

So, she concluded, the Tories needed to embark on radical change. Out of 38 Tory MPs elected last year, "only one was a woman and none was from an ethnic minority. Is that fair? Is one half of the population entitled to only one place out of 38?" she said.

Facing down the white middle-England Tory diehards was brave, and probably had to be said - but a lukewarm reception from her audience did not bode well for the rest of the week.

Sections of the audience applauded enthusiastically - but more interesting was the reception in the rest of the hall, which ranged from polite clapping to downright silence.

Perhaps a reflection of the trouble that leader Iain Duncan Smith will have in getting his troops to accept the reforming message was seen outside the hall just after Mrs May's speech.

A group of quintessentially Tory women delegates - old, well-heeled and coloured hair - called out to a colleague as they walked down the seaside path: "We're not listening to that - we're going for some retail therapy!" And off they marched in the direction of Bournemouth's town centre.

Behind the scenes, this is certainly the quietest conference this season.

Compared with the buzz and excitement on the fringes of the Labour and Liberal Democrat gatherings, the corridors and foyers in Bournemouth are like the Marie Celeste - a ship which never quite sank, but devoid of people.

Mr Duncan Smith and his cohorts, such as Mrs May and shadow home secretary Oliver Letwin, may be bravely facing up to the need for change, but all the talk in the bars and restaurants is over who will replace Mr Duncan Smith if next May's council elections show little Tory recovery.

A shot across his bows came at a fringe meeting held by former Chancellor and leadership contender Kenneth Clarke yesterday.

He said no Conservative should be forced to renounce "lingering, lifetime" leadership ambitions. They may be trying to change their image and outlook, but the Conservatives are still the party for internal intrigue.