Fox: Confident about prospects

Conservative chairman Liam Fox has signalled that he views himself as a potential leader of his party.

Interviewed on the eve of the Tories' spring conference, Fox said he was upbeat about his party's prospects.

But he also revealed that he had future leadership hopes should the party fail to return to government.

"Virtually nobody in a senior position in the party is not spoken about as a future leader," he said. "We get it on a rota basis.

"Anyone who says they wouldn't like to be the boss is being disingenuous, but equally most politicians are there because they want to get things done."

Clear blue water

Fox also insisted there was clear blue water between Labour and the Conservatives as the election looms.

"Labour talks about the choices they will allow you to have. We talk about choices you can make for yourself," he said.

"Labour believes the government knows best. We believe Government should do as little as possible and citizens be empowered to do as much as they can for themselves."

Self-confidence

The party co-chairman went on to claim that the Conservatives have "rediscovered their own ideological self-confidence".

"In 1979 we identified that trade union members were enslaved by their own leadership, so legislated to free them. We identified council house residents had become enslaved by local councils, so gave them the right to buy," he said.

"The same could be said today of parents who are stuck in a system where they cannot choose the education they want for their children, or patients who cannot choose the healthcare they need.

"If those principles guided us through those old battles then they can guide us through the battle we have today."