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Chris Huhne has said that the Liberal Democrats are "fair set" for gains at the next election.
In an interview with ePolitix.com, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman claimed that his party was "up very substantially", averaging 12 per cent in the polls last year and 18 per cent recently.
And he dismissed the argument that the party's failure to make gains in recent by-elections came as the result of a Conservative squeeze.
"Where we are is broadly pretty good for the stage of the electoral cycle - it provides us with a good launching pad for the next election," he said.
"I personally believe that despite the attempt at enormous spin from the Conservative Party - which seems to be in serious danger of becoming exceptionally complacent and self-congratulatory - that all the evidence is that we will gain seats at the next election."
Huhne said that it was no longer the case that his party's "most winnable seats and our most marginal seats were all against the Conservatives". "It's very much more evenly balanced," he said.
"So if there is a big swing from Labour to Conservative, then you will find that we will be gaining as many potential seats as we will be losing and I would actually say it's very unlikely that we're going to lose seats to the Conservatives."
Describing the Lib Dems as a "progressive party", he said they could win over voters with a focus on public services, fairness and internationalism.
"Although the effects of the Iraq war are fading, I think that many Labour voters want to see a party that's committed to dealing with things in an international way," he said.
"How do we solve climate change... unless we're working with other countries - and that's an enormous problem for the Conservative Party because they are still basically a xenophobic anti-foreigner party.
"How do you solve climate change if you're not going to work with your partners?"
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