DAVID CAMERON was given warning yesterday by a former leadership rival that his emphasis on green policies risked eclipsing traditional Tory messages on crime and discipline.

Liam Fox, who came third in the autumn leadership election and established himself as an alternative candidate of the Right, said that the party risked being “tilted too much in one direction”. His coded warning chimes with unease shared by many Conservative MPs that Mr Cameron has failed to make a greater impact in the opinion polls as Tony Blair is beset by difficulties.

Many Tories do not object to his decision to champion environmental policy, but they question whether his heavy focus will deliver electoral results.

Dr Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, said on the GMTV programme Sunday that the Conservative Party was most successful when a broad coalition, as it had been when Margaret Thatcher won office in 1979. He said: “If the party is tilted too much in any one direction, that makes us politically less stable and that makes us less attractive.”

The Conservatives should demonstrate that they were a broad coalition with an agenda that combined traditional Tory policies on wealth creation, national security and being tough on crime with a social agenda that had been missing, such as domestic violence, mental health and the environment too, he said.

Mr Cameron, who has concentrated on the environment in campaigning for this week’s local elections with the message “Vote blue, go green”, admitted yesterday that when he cycled to the Commons he was followed by a car carrying his papers. “Every night I go home with a huge box full of work; dozens of letters and papers to clear, and if I can’t manage to take those on my bike, which very frequently I can’t, then my government car does bring them along,” he said on the BBC One programme The Politics Show.

The timing of Dr Fox’s remarks is curious, days before local elections in which the Tories are expected to perform reasonably well. However, Mr Cameron will be under pressure if his party fails to make significant gains.

Given the difficulties that Labour has faced during the campaign over election spending, deficits in the NHS, John Prescott’s affair and the release of prisoners who should have been considered for deportation, many Tories will hope for major advances. But this set of elections, mainly in big metropolitian authorities and the London boroughs, takes place in areas that are more difficult for the Conservatives.

Commentators will also look for evidence on Thursday that, under Mr Cameron, the party is regaining a presence on more big-city councils.

Mr Cameron will step up his attacks on the Government’s record today with a statement to mark the ninth anniversary of the election victory on May 1, 1997, by which Mr Blair returned Labour to office. He will accuse Mr Blair of having lost authority.

Mr Cameron has announced that a working group of business leaders and former civil servants will look at steps to improve administrative competence and management in Whitehall. It will be led by Sir Brian Williamson, the former chairman of the London International Financial Futures Exchange, and Sir David Lees, the Tate & Lyle chairman.

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