KENT Tory MPs have given their backing to David Cameron’s decision to ask activists to back a blueprint of the party’s aims and values.

The Conservative leader has published a document that draws together what he believes should be the party’s central goals heading to the next election.

Party members will be asked to give their backing for the blueprint, which carries the slogan "Built to Last," in a referendum.

Ashford MP Damian Green said the document represented a "clear sense of the direction the party is travelling in" and would provide a framework for developing more detailed policies.

"It gives a proper feeling of change. It is healthy for any party that is in the process of regenerating itself to have this kind of debate. What we need to do is show that we are up to date and interested in the issues of modern Britain."

Maidstone and Weald MP Ann Widdecombe rejected claims the party was junking traditional Conservative policies but conceded she could not see a situation in which party members would reject the blueprint.

"It is one of these situations where he [David Cameron] would be damned if he didn’t do something like this and damned if he did. I do not see this as junking policies. It seems to me he is doing what the Conservative party has always done. These goals will be distinctive once they are matched by detailed policy proposals."

She rejected the suggestion that putting a stable economy before tax cuts represented a U-turn.

"He is not ruling out tax cuts but saying that a stable economy must come first."

Faversham and Mid Kent MP Hugh Robertson insisted: "It is entirely sensible to set out what the principles of the party are going to be. David Cameron is setting the direction of travel and now is the right time to do it.

"It is unrealistic to produce detailed policies now...that is the next stage. It is inevitable in any organisation that undergoes fundamental change that there will be some unhappiness but that does not mean it is the wrong thing to do."