ASHFORD MP Damian Green has signalled he may stand in the Conservative leadership contest after a speech urging the party to rediscover its “One Nation” roots.

The MP, who is regarded as a party moderniser, said he had not made any decision but confirmed he was considering throwing his hat in the ring when the contest formally gets underway in autumn.

“I have not decided yet. This [the leadership contest] is a process which will take some time and I am making no announcement yet,” the MP added.

Mr Green used a keynote speech to the Tory Reform Group to urge his party to reclaim the left-of-centre ground he said had been stolen by Tony Blair. He also called for a complete re-think on what modern Conservatism meant.

“If Conservatives are to set themselves up as a plausible alternative government, we need to offer hope," he stressed. "There is no law that says Conservative politicians need to be gloomy about the world and its future.”

The party had to grasp that it performed badly at the general election and it faced a daunting task at the next.

“We saw a fall in our share of the vote in the north west of England, the north east and Wales. Outside the south east corner, there is almost no progress to report,” he said.

At the same time, research showed that nearly 70 per cent of people believe the Conservative party appealed mainly to those over the age of 50.

And in a sideswipe at the campaign fought by Michael Howard, he said the party had been too negative. “The first step towards success...is to be more positive, not just at elections but between elections.”

It was wrong to suggest that the country was populated by moral delinquents and if the Conservative Party continued to show its dislike for modern Britain “it is unlikely that modern Britain will warm to the Conservative party".