Portillo: 'I have had a process of maturing'

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Michael Portillo warned the Conservative Party yesterday that it must embrace change in order to bounce back from the "crisis" it faces after its general election defeat.

Setting out his personal credo, the early front-runner in the Tory leadership election said: "Our party has suffered two stunning defeats and I believe our party is now in grave peril, in grave danger of what may happen next."

Mr Portillo symbolised the need for change by making a breakfast-time speech at a trendy restaurant, Avenue, in St James's, London. His Tory critics raised eyebrows at the event, saying it was odd to serve champagne while speaking about extending opportunity to all, the problems in the National Health Service and run-down estates.

In an echo of Tony Blair's vision of New Labour, Mr Portillo insisted that the Conservative Party's principles were enduring and insisted: "The way in which we express our values and apply them must change with the passing of time."

But he played down parallels between him and Mr Blair, suggesting the Prime Minister had ditched Labour's principles to win power. "I am a Conservative through and through. I don't believe I am a man who has undergone fundamental internal change, but I am a man who has gone through a process of maturing," he said.

Mr Portillo described himself as "a person of strong views and firm positions" who had "had my ups and downs, I have lived my life and I have made mistakes".

He suggested his advantage over the other candidates lay in the "failure" of losing his Enfield Southgate seat at the 1997 general election. "It gave me the chance to return to the real world, a place where people travel by train and bus, where they strive to bring up families, where they try hard at work but live for their life at work.

"This world is completely different from Westminster and Parliament is held in contempt there."

The Shadow Chancellor pledged that if he became leader, he would launch the most sweeping review of the party's policies since 1975, when Margaret Thatcher became leader, saying he would involve people outside the party too. "The Conservatives must be the party of ideas," he said.

Mr Portillo said: "I joined the party when it was beginning an era of unprecedented strength. It's our duty to rebuild and pass on a vibrant Conservative Party to future generations. To do so we must be as brave today in embracing change as the party has had before when it faced crisis."

Mr Portillo said the Tories must be "passionate" in their commitment to public services, adding that there were lessons to be learnt from Britain's European Union partners over the NHS.

Although he praised William Hague and said did not want him to resign, he called for a more inclusive approach than Mr Hague adopted. "The Conservative Party I would like to lead would extend a welcome to everyone living in Britain. We will be a party in favour of things and in favour of people rather than against them."