Nigel Evans, Shadow Welsh Secretary

Speaking at the Blackpool conference, Shadow Welsh Secretary Nigel Evans MP said: "We need to reconnect with the ordinary people of Wales.

"When the election comes around in three to four years time, we will start to turn that extra support into votes."

Although Mr Duncan Smith's speech inevitably focused on the escalating international situation in Afghanistan, he also indicated that he was keen to put his own imprint on the party that he recently inherited from William Hague.

New policies

On Monday, the leader of the Conservatives in the assembly, Nick Bourne, urged his party to step up its search for new policies ahead of the next assembly elections.

Mr Bourne told the Tory conference in Blackpool the party must consult widely as it looks for vote-winning ideas.

It is the second year in a row that Mr Bourne has used the party conference to launch a policy review.

Mr Bourne, who supported former Tory Chancellor Ken Clarke in the recent leadership election, said the Tories can unite behind their new leader.

Devolution debate

The Tory conference in Blackpool went ahead despite the tensions caused by the international situation and the recall of Parliament following the start of strikes on Afghanistan.

The conference had already been shortened by a day due to the terrorist attacks on the US.

As a result, a proposed debate on devolution was cancelled.

Party members in Blackpool had been scheduled to debate "devolution, diversity and decentralisation" on Thursday morning.

Other topics were rescheduled but the devolution debate fell victim to the new schedule.