Britain's struggling Conservative Party today began to showcase its strategy for unseating Tony Blair, just days after the prime minister shook up the political landscape by setting a date for his exit.
But as the party gathered at this south coast resort for its annual conference, probably the last before an election, rarely have its prospects of ousting Blair looked less promising.
Two national election defeats by Blair's Labour party and a single-seat poll disaster last week have created a gloomy mood.
"No one is denying we still have a long way to go to reverse one of the biggest swings in British history at Labour's 1997 landslide," said Nigel Mills, an East Midlands councillor.
Now on their fourth leader in eight years and with the glory days of the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher a distant memory, polls show the party which once epitomised Britain's Establishment is drifting further from the seat of power.
A Populus poll for The Times newspaper gave Labour 35 per cent of the vote against 28 percent for the Conservatives - a dismal position for the main opposition party given Blair's trials over the Iraq war.
Conservatives, who have failed to capitalise on Blair's unpopularity, hope speculation about his successor will help them. They have branded him a lame duck premier and claim instability will beset the government.
Blair said on Thursday he would serve a full third term if his Labour Party wins the next general election, expected in May, but would not stay on for a fourth term. He made the shock pledge before undergoing a successful heart operation.
Conservative Chairman Liam Fox tried to boost morale, declaring this was the party's last conference in opposition.
"Britain is crying out for a new direction and this week we will give it. People are tired of Labour's words," he said.
Blair has muscled into Conservative political territory by abandoning Labour's left-wing trappings and wooing the all-important middle classes.
The Conservatives have also been squeezed at the other end of the political spectrum by the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) which advocates withdrawal from the European Union.
UKIP's electoral success in the last six months has prompted calls from some sections of the Conservative party to emphasise issues such as the EU and immigration.
A poll in this week's Economist magazine showed more than a quarter of voters would be more likely to vote Conservative if the party committed to withdrawing from the EU and even more if it took a harder line on immigration.