Theresa May, then the chair of the Conservative party, accused some in her own party of "demonising minorities" in a landmark political speech in 2002.
The speech, delivered at the 2002 party conference, said the Tories needed to move away from their image as the "nasty party" and ditch positions which appeared as cruel to the British public.
"Some Tories have tried to make political capital by demonising minorities instead of showing confidence in all the citizens of our country," she said.
"Twice we went to the country unchanged, unrepentant, just plain unattractive," she continued. "And twice we got slaughtered."
"You know what some people call us – the nasty party," she said. "I know that's unfair. You know that's unfair but it's the people out there we need to convince – and we can only do that by avoiding behaviour and attitudes that play into the hands of our opponents. No more glib moralising, no more hypocritical finger-wagging.
"We need to reach out to all areas of our society."
The 2016 Conservative party conference is May's first as party leader.
During the course of the week, ministers have proposed requiring firms to list the number of foreign workers they hire, criminalising landlords knowingly providing housing to illegal immigrants, and giving UK soldiers immunity to human rights rules. They have also refused to guarantee EU citizens the right to remain in the UK post-Brexit, referring to this as one of the "main cards" in negotiations.
The Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron – who stood against May for the seat of Durham North West in 1992 – said under May the Tories had reclaimed their role as the "nasty party".
"Theresa May once complained about being the 'nasty party', but under her leadership the Tories are nastier than ever," he said.
“From attacking foreign doctors to using EU nationals as bargaining chips, this Tory Brexit government is lurching ever further to the right.
“We must stand up to this Tory Brexit government and fight for a Britain that is open, tolerant and united.”