Where once the Tory faithful expected to hear the rousing notes of Land of Hope and Glory and wave the Union Flag, glitzy displays of nationalism are to be replaced with a more business-like attitude when the leader, Mr William Hague, appears at the Conservative Party Conference this year, writes Rachel Donnelly.
In an attempt to bring the party up to date and reverse its flagging fortunes, the Tories have decided that the traditional anthem will not be played at the end of the leader's speech, which has been moved to the day before the conference ends rather than the final day, in the hope that it will have more impact in the media.
Not content to tinker with Mr Hague's speech, the spin doctors have also turned their attention to the traditional party colour, Tory blue, which will be replaced with vivid red, green and yellow.
Meanwhile, the bunker-style podiums from which Baroness Thatcher made such memorable speeches in the 1980s will be ditched in favour of comfortable chairs around a coffee table.