MICHAEL Howard is facing calls to bring forward the Conservative party’s leadership election from a Kent backbencher who says the leader’s authority is "ebbing away."

Ashford MP Damian Green, who is seen as party moderniser and is Mr Howard’s neighbour, has warned his party is handing Tony Blair an advantage by spending too much time discussing the rules around the leadership contest.

Mr Howard has said he wants new rules in place before he steps down as party leader by the end of the year.

But the Ashford MP says he is concerned the lengthy timetable ensisaged for the leadership election will cause problems.

Referring to Mr Howard’s timetable for handing over the reins, the MP said: "Once he has said he is going, then authority starts ebbing away. That’s life. It’s started happening and we need to get on with it."

He added: "I do not think we should spend the next seven months anguishing about new rules for the leadership. At the moment, we are focusing all our attention on ourselves and frankly, we need to be getting on with pointing out the Government’s failings and broadening our appeal as a party. We have to make these decisions quickly."

Mr Green insisted that he was not alone in believing the party should be moving more quickly.

It follows what was said to be a stormy private meeting between Mr Howard and backbenchers over party rule changes in which some MPs accused the leader of bouncing them into accepting changes.