CONSERVATIVE discontent with David Cameron's leadership has been laid bare again at Westminster with Adam Afriyie, the Tory MP recently touted as a potential leader of his party, steadfastly refusing to say if the Prime Minister would lead the Conservatives into the 2015 General Election.
Just 24 hours after Mr Cameron sought to rally the party troops at the Tories' one-day spring conference by urging them to put aside internal squabbles and recognise "our battle is with Labour", Mr Afriyie warned they must deliver economic growth to stand any chance of winning the next election outright.
Pressed on Mr Cameron's position as leader, the Windsor MP said: "I'm not prepared to speculate because what people want to see from their politicians is leadership and a commitment to getting Britain back on top.
"People are worried about their jobs. If we are going to create jobs, we have got to focus on the policies that will win the election rather than personalities."
Andrew Mitchell, the former Chief Whip, offered the PM his strong backing, insisting "tea-room talk of challenging David Cameron for the leadership will lead to a Tory defeat".
The comments came as the Conservatives suffered more grim polling, with a surge by the anti-EU UKIP eating into support for the Tories and increasing Labour's lead.
The Comres snapshot put UKIP on 17%, placing it in third place ahead of the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives were down three at 28%, while Labour was up one to 37% .
There was more cheerful news for Mr Cameron with a majority of 38% to 28% saying the Tories were more likely to win the next election with him as leader.
The outspoken Tory MP Nadine Dorries also warned the PM that the party had to change tack to capture voters who were "charmed" by UKIP's message on Europe and immigration.
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