MICHAEL HOWARD has told Tory rightwingers to stop attacking David Cameron and to let him get on with modernising the party.

Mr Cameron, who succeeded Mr Howard as party leader last December, has been under fire from traditionalists such as Lord Tebbit for dropping cherished Conservative policies. The Thatcherite former Cabinet minister John Redwood will keep up the pressure on Monday by publishing a pamphlet demanding big tax cuts.

However, speaking to The Times before Mr Cameron’s first conference as leader, which begins on Sunday, Mr Howard emphatically endorsed his successor, saying that he was “doing brilliantly” and that his achievements showed that he had been “the right choice” for the job.

Speaking about those who have attacked Mr Cameron, Mr Howard said: “They should remember that David is the elected leader of our party, and he has the support of our party. He was elected on a platform of change, and they should leave him to get on with it.”

The Conservative Party is approaching its conference in buoyant mood, but with growing disquiet among activists about the direction in which their leader is taking them. The former minister Edward Leigh cautioned last week that the party was facing its fourth consecutive election defeat because its core supporters could no longer see any point in voting Conservative.

Mr Howard, who is seen as a rightwinger, has kept a low profile since standing down as leader, and has never said previously whether Mr Cameron was his choice as successor. However, he insisted that the party needed to change its policies and image after he had led it to its third election defeat in a row last year.

Mr Cameron has distanced the party from many of its traditional priorities, including cutting taxes and curbing immigration. Instead, he has emphasised economic stability and said that immigration should be welcomed. He has put the environment at the top of the party’s agenda, followed by relieving world poverty and promoting social justice. Rather than emphasising the need to boost economic growth, he has talked about promoting happiness and general wellbeing.

“He’s trying to change the way people look at the Conservative Party, and trying to change the party itself. It’s not just a question of perception — he’s changing the party. That’s why he’s talking more about things we haven’t talked about and less about things we have talked about,” Mr Howard said. “He’s making it younger and broadening its appeal, and it’s very important.”

Mr Howard, who is standing down as an MP at the next election, insisted that the party had no choice but to modernise. “It needs changing because we lost three elections. We clearly hadn’t been doing everything right. We obviously haven’t been seen by enough people as providing the answer to the challenges facing the country,” he said, admitting that he had not got everything right, but insisting that he had left the party in better shape than he found it.

The former Chancellor Lord Lamont of Lerwick is reported to have criticised Mr Cameron for not having enough policies, but Mr Howard brushed aside the criticism. He said: “There are quite a lot of sensible policies. But it is also true that we are probably still two and a half years away from the most likely date for an election. An awful lot can happen between now and then, will happen between now and then, and it doesn’t make sense for an opposition to tie itself too much to a whole raft of detailed policies this far in advance of the election.” he said.

Mr Howard insisted that Mr Cameron’s strategy has been justified by the Conservatives’ now consistent lead over Labour in the opinion polls. “He’s doing extremely well — I think he’s doing brilliantly,” he said, adding that it proved that party members had been right to elect him. “I think what’s happened since then makes it clear they made the right choice."

Times Recommends

• Swine flu vaccine for all as drug rushed through
• Artificial sperm and the race to build a baby
• BBC jets out stars to tout for prizes