Conservatives have accused Charles Kennedy and his party of living in "fantasy land".

The criticism came as Liberal Democrat activists backed Charles Kennedy's plans to widen the party's appeal.

Grassroots Lib Dem members say their party leader's plan to target both disaffected Labour and Tory voters can be done without having to lurch to the left or right.

But the Conservative Party chairman, Theresa May, said the real job of holding the government to account would be done by her party.

"Whilst the Conservatives have been holding the government to account today over their miserable failure to provide our children with a decent education and reliable exam system, Charles Kennedy has gone off into fantasy land," she said.

"You can go on Stars in their Eyes and call yourself Elvis, it does not make you Elvis. Charles Kennedy can call himself an opposition, it does not make him an opposition.

"He is an amiable chat show personality, but no one thinks he should be prime minister of Britain."

But Liberal Democrat councillors interviewed by ePolitix.com said the party now had a sound strategy that would boost its electoral fortunes.

"In urban areas we want to get disaffected Labour voters who we have been targeting very successfully," said Meral Ece, from Islington.

"We don't want to become a paler version of the Tories and we want people to vote for us because they agree with what we are doing. We used to be for the people who voted for us in rural areas and the South West. We're running councils in places that a few years ago we couldn't have dreamt of."

Mandy Wells from the Tory stronghold of Wandsworth said that having the government adopting their policies was a positive step for the Lib Dems.

"We've got policies that other parties have taken up but that shows our strengths. We can now build on that. Maybe our policies aren't totally distinct from the other parties but it's banging on about the fact that we've instigated them and moved the ideas forward," she said.

Delegates said the current media obsession about which direction the party would move in was a red herring

"It's not about public good, private bad. You can't simply portray them as Labour says this, the Conservatives say the opposite and one or the other must be right.

"The left-right spectrum is imploding and ceasing to exist. The debate is about how much you want Labour control freakery or the unbridled free market rather than the systems that deliver services," said Islington councillor Arnie Gibbons

Mike Evemy from Swindon said the strategy of offering a home to One Nation Tories had worked in the past but wouldn't in the future.

The focus on public services was correct and would play well with both left and right, he said.

"Going for disaffected Tories was our strategy throughout the '80s and '90s. If we're going to move to the next level we've got to think about reaching people who are willing to think about issues again," he said.

"We can campaign on public services in Tory areas because they use them and in traditional Labour areas they are the heaviest users of public services - and they are getting a raw deal. The message works in both areas."

But the Tory chairman insisted that the Lib Dem message would not take them into government. "The Liberal Democrats hold a principle for as long as it takes to get from one doorstep to the next. They are a party of opportunism not a party of government," said May.