Cameron: Only Tories offer real change

David Cameron has insisted that voting Conservative is the only way to get "real change", as he battled to quell the Liberal Democrat surge.

The Tory leader said the public was "grabbing on to anything new" in a bid to find a different direction for Britain.

But he warned that there was a risk the country could end up mired in "uncertainty, fudge and division".

Campaigning in south London, Mr Cameron said: "What (the public) are saying so clearly is that we are fed up with what we have got, we are fed up with the status quo..."

He went on: "They are crying out for change, they want something different. They are grabbing on to anything new to get change."

Mr Cameron insisted he would not turn to negative campaigning in a bid to regain the initiative in the General Election contest.

"I am going to redouble the positive. I am going to accentuate everything positive we want to bring to this country," he said.

"It absolutely clear to me what this election is now about.

"First of all, are we going to have real leadership that will bring change in our country or are we going to have uncertainty, fudge and division?"

Mr Cameron said: "For decades, politicians in this country have been treating the British public like a bunch of mugs.

"Politicians have been saying 'Just give us a little bit more of your money, just let us pass one more law, one more regulation, one more little order from on high and suddenly we will solve all the country's problems.'