The leader of Britain's Conservative Party David Cameron is a "breath of fresh air" on the, US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said today.
Mr McCain praised the enthusiasm of Mr Cameron's team and their "willingness to embrace new ideas based on conservative policies".
"They are now getting more in tune with the great centre of the British electorate. I think our Republican Party needs to do more to get into the great centre of the American electorate," he told Britain's right-wing Spectatormagazine.
"I've met most of them. They're young. They're exuberant. They're optimistic. They believe there's no obstacle that can't be overcome," the senator said in an interview.
US President George W Bush's close relationship with Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair has left the Conservative Party sidelined in transatlantic relations in recent years.
Mr McCain acknowledged the Conservatives had spent some time "in the wilderness" watching three successive Blair election wins, but he said they were now making headway, and his Republican Party could learn something from them.
Opinion polls in Britain shows voters preferring Mr Cameron to the Gordon Brown, who is expected to succeed Mr Blair next year.
"It's very obvious to me that what Cameron is trying to do is what I've been trying to do: preserve your base principles and philosophies, but also see how you can shape those policies to attract what is viewed as the independent voter, or the great middle of the British electorate," Mr McCain said.
Mr McCain has cemented his status in the Republican Party with solid support for Mr Bush and the Iraq war and with opinion polls which put him at the top of a crowded Republican field for 2008.