Senior Conservative figures have been reflecting on the party's progress since David Cameron was elected leader.

As the party's spring conference got underway in Manchester, chairman Francis Maude caused controversy by saying the Tories "may not win the next election".

The event comes as the party seeks to ensure it does not lose the early momentum generated by Cameron's election as leader.

But the latest polling suggests Labour has regained its lead over the Conservatives.

And with expectations running high for the impending council elections, Cameron will be eager to retain his early momentum and deliver a strong result.

Cities

After receiving a standing ovation as he walked onto the conference platform, Cameron said he was delighted to be in Manchester.

"This is a city on the way up and this is a party on the way up," he told cheering activists.

The Tory leader outlined four priorities for campaigning in cities - crime and anti-social behaviour, schools, housing and people.

On crime, Cameron it was "not enough to say we need more police and tougher sentences".

He said the public also require more "control and accountability" over law and order.

Schools should also be a good quality, said Cameron, who also promised a "revolution" in the shared ownership of property.

And he said that people should be put at the heart of regeneration.

"Regeneration should be something done with communities and with people, not something that we do to communities and to people," the Conservative leader told activists.

Cameron also urged greater support for social enterprises and community leaders, some of whom he talked to on the platform.

Challenge

Speaking to the Times on Friday, Cameron said he was relaxed about the polls, saying the challenge of winning over the public would take "months and years".

"You don't change people's views overnight," he said.

"All politicians look at the polls. They're dishonest if they say they don't.

"But what really matters is what lies underneath. People want to know if we share their values, understand what their needs are.

"Do we understand what is wrong with the country and how we'll put it right. It's only when you change perceptions about those things that you really shift in the polls."

Change

Maude has also warned his party that it must change further if it is to win elections.

"There has to be much more change to come," the Tory chairman told the Guardian.

"All we have done is talk about the change.

"People really like David Cameron - I mean they really like him.

"They think he has got brains, courage, they think he gives his party strong leadership, which they want.

"They think he's willing to take tough decisions, they think he has got flair and charisma: all the qualities, actually, that they want to see in a future prime minister, so that's fantastic.

"They are not yet convinced that the party has changed, they are not yet convinced that what they are seeing is more than just David Cameron, and it is that that we need to persuade them of."

Upbeat

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Maude also said he was "upbeat" about his party's future.

"Every day, every week, every hour, every month, every year, we're going to have to earn our success, we're going to have to convince people that we are a credible and appealing alternative," he said.

The comments came after a poll found the number of Conservative members who believe that Cameron is likely to be prime minister after the next general election has dropped significantly since January.

Some 69 per cent of members questioned said Cameron could be moving into 10 Downing Street after the election, down eight percentage points from 77 per cent.

And 26 per cent of members now admit a Cameron-led administration is unlikely, up from 17 per cent in January, according to a poll from the internet blog conservativehome.com

Cities

Ahead of next month's local elections, the Conservatives are also using their conference to highlight a new commitment to Britain's cities.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne was set to deliver an address on the theme of widening opportunities in urban Britain, while William Hague and Lord Heseltine were also talking on the theme of city revival.

But Labour Party chairman Ian McCartney said Cameron "may use warm words about our towns and cities but they stand in stark contrast to the record of his party".

"With Labour, our cities are undergoing a renaissance as opportunities increase and residents return.

"We must not let the Tories put this at risk again."

Environment

Meanwhile a central plank of Cameron's bid to modernise the Conservatives has come under fire, with two prominent Tories questioning aspects of the party's green re-brand.

Caroline Jackson has attacked the 'quality of life' review group, headed by ex-cabinet minister John Gummer, which is briefed to develop new ideas on putting sustainability at the heart of Conservative policy.

The Tory MEP said she suspects the group's purpose is partly "cosmetic" and that the party's environmental agenda will be subverted by Cameron's policy on Europe.

Jackson also criticised the Tory leader's plan to withdraw the party's MEPs from their alliance with the centre-right European People's Party, the largest group in the European parliament.

Seeking to capitalise on the comments, environment secretary Margaret Beckett said: "When a prominent Conservative MEP with strong green credentials points out that David Cameron's party has been 'all talk and no action' on the environment, it demonstrates that the credit David Cameron is getting from the media is credit he has not earned and does not deserve."

And Liberal Democrat president Simon Hughes accused the Tories of being "all talk and no action".

"This admission that the Tory's cosmetic conversion is failing to win over the British people is unsurprising," he said.

"On the environment, on education and on civil liberties, the Tories have been all talk and no action".