As the Tories gather in Bournemouth, John Redwood has warned that the party has to "have a good argument" if it is to recover in the polls.

John Redwood, the former Conservative cabinet minister, says his party can mount a credible challenge to Labour - but only if it discovers what it really stands for.

In an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, Redwood says: "Lets have a good debate and by all means let there be differences, there are differences there are big differences in all major parties on these issues.

"I think it would be very healthy for the Conservatives to be seen to have a good argument about how far you go in making schools independent, how far you go in introducing private monies into health, those sort of big issues."

The onetime leadership contender says it is time that Iain Duncan Smith's party began "upping the ante a bit".

Redwood claims that the Conservatives have got off to a "quiet start" over the last year.

"I would say that the Conservative Party has got off to a quiet start under Iain Duncan Smiths leadership, no big mistakes have been made in the first year, there is a lot to do," he suggests.

But he warns Duncan Smith that he must present a bolder image over the coming week.

"What the party wants from Iain over this week is some stronger bolder statements about how a Conservative government would change things if one is elected at the next election," he tells GMTV's Sunday programme.

"I think you need some momentum in the Conservative Party so I am very keen to see a leader and shadow cabinet coming and setting out the principles on which they are going to base their policies and giving us just some ideas of how the policy is going to develop and unfold.

"I think we need some big themes and I think we need some ideas so that we can go to the electorate in May for the local elections and say yes we have changed we are different and interesting."

Amid claims that senior MPs are growing uneasy with Duncan Smith, Redwood insists there is no chance of a formal challenge for the leadership.

"Iain will be our leader, he was duly elected, I think the party will back him to the election," says Redwood.

"I don't believe all these funny stories here that I hear that there is an imminent challenge to him, I haven't been approached by anybody and I haven't heard of anybody who wants to."