CONSERVATIVE traditionalists make a ferocious counterblast against the party’s modernising wing today, arguing that “faith, the flag and family” must be central to Tory thinking if the party is to win again.

In a striking intervention in the party’s leadership race, a newly formed 25-strong group of MPs calls for the demolition of the foundations of the liberal establishment and says that the Tory party has deserted “conservative Britain”, prompting the voters to desert it.

The Cornerstone group of right-wing MPs, which recently grilled leadership hopefuls about their beliefs, is to use the contest to argue for “authentic conservatism”. Its critique of “rampant liberalism” is a barely concealed attack on some of the centre-left contenders. An obvious target is Alan Duncan, the openly gay MP, who last week quit the contest with a blast at “censorious judgmentalism from the moralising wing”.

The pamphlet, written by the senior MP, Edward Leigh, says that liberals, embodied by Tony Blair’s “big-tent” new Labour and backed by much of the media, have been winning the “culture wars” in Britain for 40 years.

“The time has come”, it says, for social conservatives “to fight back”. It says that, despite the liberal supremacy in media circles, ordinary people cling to traditional values and institutions.

In a dramatic call to arms, the pamphlet declares: “We must seize the centre ground and pull it kicking and screaming towards us. That is the only way to demolish the foundations of the liberal establishment and demonstrate to the electorate the fundamental flaws on which it is based.”

The outspoken nature of the report graphically illustrates the scale of the task facing the new leader in reconciling the party’s opposing wings.

Supporters of Cornerstone include John Hayes, a former member of the Shadow Cabinet, Owen Paterson, formerly chief aide to Iain Duncan Smith, Brian Binley, Peter Bone, Julian Brazier, Douglas Carswell, William Cash, Christopher Chope, Robert Goodwill, Ian Liddell-Grainger, Andrew Rosindell, Lee Scott, Desmond Swayne and Angela Watkinson. Most of the group would be expected to support David Davis or Liam Fox in the leadership contest.

In a direct attack on the liberal modernisers, the pamphlet says: “It is unacceptable for people whose electoral success is dependent on carrying the Conservative badge to use it to conceal fundamentally unconservative attitudes. Such critics usually have little to offer as a clarion call beyond the shrill cry for ever more unbridled liberty.”

The group is also critical of the Tory election campaign, describing it as too timid about tax cuts, public service reform and family values. The leadership, the pamphlet says, framed a message barely distinguishable from Labour after relying too heavily on focus groups.

Mr Leigh says that the Conservatives were hindered by their fear of Labour mud-slinging. The promise to cut tax by £4 billion was slight given that public spending has been running at £700 billion a year, yet it did not head off Labour claims that the Tories planned swingeing spending cuts.

In an appeal for clear blue water between the two main parties, he argues for radical cuts in tax and spending, a voucher system for schools, tax relief on private health insurance, a more patriotic approach to Europe and the supremacy of Parliament, a compassionate approach to the poor, and the courage to talk about moral values and the importance of marriage to the upbringing of children.

“Modern politicians fight shy of talking about religion. They fear they will be accused of moralising . . . of setting themselves up for a fall. Many even argue that politics should be morally neutral, and political debate is the poorer for it. Christianity is part of our history and culture.”

The pamphlet adds: “Tory values are not dead, nor is Tory England. Both lack a voice. We have become too concerned with being on-message, and not with the message itself. Faith, flag and family are at the heart of Tory thinking.

“Combined, tradition, the nation, the family and free enterprise represent the instincts and preoccupations of most Britons and so, unsurprisingly, they have the capacity to inspire. In the USA too, these core conservative issues excite voters. George Bush understands this and wins. Strangely, the Conservative Party has deserted conservative Britain, and so Britons have deserted us.”

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