'No smugness': Cameron insists Tories aren't taking next election for granted

David Cameron insisted there was 'no smugness' about the Tories as he refused to repeat a claim by William Hague that they were now the 'likely winners' of the next election.

Mr Cameron admitted that despite advances, the party still had 'a long way to go to really convince people that we are ready to run the country'.

He said there was a big difference between people telling pollsters they wanted a change of government and actually voting for one in the 'cold light of day'.

Asked about Mr Hague's remarks, in a recent interview, Mr Cameron said: 'I never use those words because the election is up to the members of the public to vote and you can't make any presumptions about the way they are going to.

'There's not one ounce of complacency or one ounce of taking things for granted or triumphalism in me or in my team,' he said.

'There is a really hard programme of work for the Conservative Party to go through to turn what is a good polling position into a general election winning position.

'No smugness, no triumphalism, no complacency - never - between now and when the election is called.'

He dismissed claims that a session at the Tories' party conference on 'preparing for government' in the autumn indicated a sense of presumption.

The last two Conservative gatherings have featured similar discussions.

Mr Cameron insisted: 'Part of being in opposition is preparing for government.'

He declined to comment on the leadership turmoil in the Labour Party, insisting it was hard enough to run one political party without advising on who should head another one.

Mr Cameron is using this week - between a two-week family holiday in Cornwall and another in Turkey - to visit a number of marginal constituencies in the north west.

He used a press conference yesterday to condemn the 'completely unacceptable' behaviour of a Tory general election candidate in a key target seat who admitted a campaign of intimidation against rivals.

Would-be Watford MP Ian Oakley quit the party when police launched an investigation.

Mr Cameron said: 'Clearly what this individual did was completely unacceptable. He is no longer the candidate, he is no longer a member of the party and we will work very hard to make sure that Conservatives in Watford can choose a really good candidate to challenge that seat.'

Oakley, 31, of Ryeland Close, West Drayton, north west London, pleaded guilty to five charges of criminal damage and two counts of harassment against Liberal Democrats at St Albans Magistrates Court last week and also asked for 68 other offences to be taken into account.

He is due to be sentenced next month.