On 9 October 2003, Iain Duncan Smith launched a last-ditch attempt to save his leadership of the Conservative Party in a pugnacious conference speech. Addressing delegates in Blackpool, Duncan Smith delivered the famous line: “The quiet man is here to stay, and he’s turning up the volume.”

In his 2002 keynote conference speech, Duncan Smith had attempted to turn his lack of charisma into a positive attribute, telling delegates not to “underestimate the determination of a quiet man”. The line, apparently inspired by George H.W Bush’s 1988 Republican Convention acceptance speech, was ridiculed by Labour MPs.

Nevertheless, Duncan Smith returned to this theme in his speech a year later.

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In 2001, Duncan Smith emerged victorious from first the Conservative leadership election to involve the party’s grassroots. ‘IDS’ defeated Kenneth Clarke, seen as the favourite of the parliamentary party, by 155,933 votes (60.7%) to Clarke’s 100,864 (39.3%) among the Tory membership.

With the contest having pitted Conservative MPs against the wider party membership, Duncan Smith’s leadership was troubled from the start. His critics concluded that he was simply no match for Tony Blair’s political supremacy. 2003 was beset by reports of Conservative plots and schemes – leaving Duncan Smith looking increasingly insecure.

These stories spilled into conference season, which was styled as make-or-break for Duncan Smith.

The Conservative leader responded with a combative address. He launched a disdainful broadside against the government’s handling of the death of the weapons expert, Dr David Kelly, accusing ministers of using Kelly “as a pawn in its battle with the BBC”.

Duncan Smith told delegates: “[Dr David Kelly’s] death was first and foremost a tragedy for those who loved him. But it shamed our country. It shamed our whole political system.”

He accused Blair of lying over his role in the public naming of Dr Kelly as the source for the BBC’s controversial Iraq dossier story.

“Immediately after Dr Kelly’s death, Tony Blair said he’d had nothing to do with his public naming. That was a lie.”

Duncan Smith stressed, however, that he still believed the prime minister was right to go to war in Iraq. “I know some say the war was wrong and I respect their opinion”, he said.

“But I believe the world is better off today because Saddam Hussein is no longer running Iraq. I’m not going to twist or turn with the prevailing wind. I won’t play games with the defence of Britain.”

He also unveiled a series of pledges, dubbed the ‘IDS Card’, hoping to convince Conservative MPs and delegates of his visions. Duncan Smith spoke to commitments on tax, asylum, pensions and schools – as well as a promise of a referendum on the proposed European Union (EU) constitutional treaty.

A longstanding eurosceptic, he styled the European constitution as a “threat to our very nationhood” that would “take away our power to decide who governs Britain”.

He added: “Think about it. Our country: no longer able to control immigration. No longer able to choose its allies. No longer able to use British soldiers to defend our interests abroad…

“Conservatives want to build a New Europe. Not a single state with its own currency and constitution. But a Europe of sovereign, enterprising nations.”

Duncan Smith claimed to have “the most radical policy agenda of any party aspiring to government since 1979”.

At the outset of the speech, Duncan Smith directly acknowledged the internal scheming against his leadership. “My mission is to take the Conservative Party back to government”, he said.

“I say to everyone here today: you either want my mission, or you want Tony Blair. There is no third way. To those who doubt and to those who deliberate, I say this: don’t work for Tony Blair. Get on board, or get out of our way. For we have got work to do”

In the speech’s most famous passage, he added: “And to the prime minister I say this: The quiet man is here to stay and he’s turning up the volume.”

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The address received repeated, rapturous standing ovations inside the conference hall. In one applause line, he vowed to “destroy this double-dealing, deceitful, incompetent, shallow, inefficient, ineffective, corrupt, mendacious, fraudulent, shameful, lying government, once and for all.”

Duncan Smith’s speech reportedly received a full 17-minute standing ovation.

But it failed to save his leadership.

Just three weeks later, on 29 October 2003, his MPs triggered a vote of no confidence in his leadership. He lost the vote by 90 to 75, and was forced to resign. He became the first Conservative leader to be removed from office by his own MPs without having fought a general election.

The confidence vote came after 25 Conservative MPs sent letters to Michael Spicer, chair of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, demanding a ballot.

Duncan Smith was replaced as Conservative leader by Michael Howard, who led his party to its third successive defeat at the 2005 general election.