Conservatives welcome in Libs: Howard

Former prime minister John Howard says the Liberal and National parties are the "natural and most productive homes" for conservatives in Australia.

Former prime minister John Howard says the Liberal Party will always be a home for conservatives. (AAP)

Former prime minister John Howard says there will always be a place for conservatives in the Liberal Party, despite Malcolm Turnbull's appeal to the "sensible centre".

Mr Howard insists the party is made up of both classical liberal and conservative traditions.

"Let me say to people in this country who regard themselves as conservative, you are always welcome in the Liberal party," Mr Howard said at a United States Studies Centre event in Sydney.

"The Liberal party and the National party are the natural and most productive homes for conservatives in this country."

It comes amid a war of words between current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and predecessor Tony Abbott about the definition of the Liberal Party.

Mr Turnbull declared the Liberal party was not a conservative one and was instead "the sensible centre".

He noted Liberal founder Sir Robert Menzies "went to great pains not to call his new political party consolidating the centre right of Australian politics 'conservative' but rather the Liberal Party, which he firmly anchored in the centre of Australian politics".

"The sensible centre was the place to be. It remains the place to be," he told a London think-tank this week.

After a public backlash, Mr Turnbull said he had deliberately used the phrase "sensible centre" coined by Tony Abbott, and believed most Liberal Party members - including himself - embraced both the terms liberal and conservative.

"They are brought together and indeed they are shared by most of us, we share both traditions, they are not exclusive," Mr Turnbull said.

Mr Abbott recently vowed to be a strong conservative voice, and former Liberal senator Cory Bernadi split earlier this year to set up his own Australian Conservatives party.

However, supporters were warned to stay away from "alternative conservative configurations" by Mr Howard, who said joining such groups would "end in tears".