I’m the changemaker not Lib-Dems, says David Cameron

David Cameron tried to wrestle back the mantle of "changemaker" from Nick Clegg today as he urged voters to "blow apart the old system" of sleaze and scandal that has dogged Parliament.

In an impassioned speech in the Lib-Dem versus Tory battleground of the South-West, Mr Cameron said that the public were "right to be furious" about the MPs' expenses scandal.

The Conservative leader also rammed home his message that his party would never accept electoral reform because the current first-past-the-post system gave voters a clear "right to sack their government", rather than leaving it to back-room deals by politicians.

Speaking in Torbay, ahead of the second leaders' debate on live TV tomorrow, Mr Cameron responded to criticism about his first performance.

"This election has caught fire. Politics should be passionate — and especially at election time. Our future is at stake," he said. "And I know that people are angry.

"They were angry before the sleaze and scandal and sight of ex-ministers saying they were like cabs for hire and they are angrier now. They feel scorned and ignored. And they are right to be furious."

Mr Cameron said the British public had been "betrayed by a generation of politicians, by an elite that thinks it knows best — Do as we say, not as we do. And do as you're told, don't tell us what to do.' People have had enough of this. They are sick and tired of the way politicians relate to them — or rather don't relate to them."

Mr Cameron said he understood the public's "despair" at the lack of accountability in the political system. In a clear reference to Labour's wooing of the Lib-Dems with the promise of a referendum on voting reform, the Tory leader said that more proportional systems robbed the voters of a "clear" way of electing MPs.

"We need politicians you can elect clearly, throw out decisively and hold to account permanently ... give voters the right to sack their government," he said.

Mr Cameron also underlined his "Big Society" idea of allowing parents and communities to set up their own schools and other public services.

"We need a change in the relationship between the state and the people. Blow apart the old system. Overthrow the old ways. Put people in the driving seat," he said. "So I tell you what we will do we'll do what politicians hate to do. Give up our perks and above all — give up our power."

In a dig at Mr Clegg's success, Mr Cameron added: "This is an agenda for change. Real change — not the veneer of change offered by our rivals."