The Conservatives will scrap the Human Rights Act if they win the next general election, the home secretary has said.
Theresa May told an event organised by the Conservative Home site the act must not interfere with the UK's ability to fight crime and control immigration.
She said it restricted "our ability to act in the national interest".
A private poll by ex-party treasurer Lord Ashcroft, meanwhile, suggested the party would lose 93 marginal seats to Labour if the election was held now.
BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said that, while withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights has been hinted at by the Conservatives in recent newspaper articles, her pledge was the party's first clear commitment to scrap the act and she suggested it may go further.
While she said she thought David Cameron would lead the party into the next election, her speech would be seen by many as a clear piece of positioning by someone with ambition for the highest political office, our correspondent added.
"When Strasbourg constantly moves the goalposts and prevents the deportation of dangerous men like Abu Qatada, we have to ask ourselves, to what end are we signatories to the convention?" she said.
"Are we really limiting human rights abuses in other countries? I'm sceptical."
She said that "by 2015, we'll need a plan for dealing with the European Court of Human Rights".
"And yes, I want to be clear that all options - including leaving the convention altogether - should be on the table."
She also called for greater use of the private sector in delivering public services and more state involvement in industrial planning.
Meanwhile Lord Ashcroft, who owns Conservative Home, published the findings of his poll during a speech earlier at the conference in London.
More than 19,000 people were questioned in 213 British constituencies in January and February 2013. The poll suggested Labour would gain 109 seats in total, returning a total of 367 MPs to parliament, a majority of 84.
It said there would be an average swing of 8% to Labour in the Conservative's most vulnerable seats.
The Liberal Democrats also stand to lose seats according to Lord Ashcroft's research. The party would lose 17 constituencies to their coalition colleagues and 13 to Labour.
Poll 'snapshot'The former Tory Party treasurer, who has donated millions of pounds to the Conservatives, used the speech to dismiss earlier newspaper claims he has withdrawn support for the party.
The peer said he will fund polling research rather than continue to provide large financial donations.
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End Quote Grant Shapps, Conservative Party chairmanWe can spend the next two years working out strategies and trying to sub-divide votes - it will get us nowhere"
He added: "I don't want to see a Labour majority of 4, let alone 84. But I hope this puts the challenge into some sort of perspective.
"We have a long way to go to hold onto the seats we gained last time, let alone pick up many more.
"Things are slightly less grim than the headline polls suggest, and we have everything to play for," Lord Ashcroft insisted.
But Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps told activists the poll was simply "a snapshot" of what may happen.
He revealed he was knocking on doors on Saturday morning, saying: "I wasn't out asking people for their votes, I was asking what we could do for them."
He added: "That's the most important lesson we can learn. We need to get out there and get to know people.
"We can spend the next two years working out strategies and trying to sub-divide votes - it will get us nowhere."
The Conservative Home conference was organised to consider the strategies needed to help the party win broader support in 2015.
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