Tory leader vows to fight on

Mr Duncan Smith insists he will fight the next general election

Iain Duncan Smith has insisted he will lead the Conservative Party into the next election.

Speaking as speculation about his future continued at Westminster, Mr Duncan Smith sought to stress Tory Party policies at an East Midlands news conference.

Pressed by reporters about his leadership, Mr Duncan Smith said: "There is no question about my leadership there is only a question about who will be leading this country after the next election."

He added: "It will be me."

Ahead of his comments, senior Tories were attempting to shore-up their leader's position.

Party chief whip David Maclean has denied as "fantasy" reports he told Mr Duncan Smith he had lost the confidence of MPs.

'Muttering'

The truth is the battle can't wait. The next election is probably less than two years away. It is time to let the salvoes roar with all guns pointed at the enemy William Hague Ex-Tory leader

Mr Duncan Smith's deputy Michael Ancram told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What we are seeing at the moment, and we saw this last year too, we are seeing some muttering going on but what I know most of my colleagues want and certainly most of the people in the country want is to see us taking on this failing Labour Government.

"I spend a lot of my time going around the country talking to Conservative members and I get a very strong and clear message from them.

"They are fed up with what they see as infighting at Westminster. They want to see us getting on with the job of winning the next election."

Party chairman Theresa May told GMTV: "It is absolutely clear that no party that is divided wins elections, so we want to see the party uniting and uniting behind Iain and getting on with the real business.

HAVE YOUR SAY The fundamental problem with the Conservative party is that it has almost become two different parties working along completely different lines W Foster, UK Send us your comments

In Thursday's edition of the Telegraph former Tory leader William Hague wrote: "It seems to me to be bizarre and frustrating that just as the political battlefield reveals the enemy to be increasingly divided and losing the high ground the reaction of some should be, 'Let's have a mutiny, the battle can wait'.

"The truth is the battle can't wait. The next election is probably less than two years away. It is time to let the salvoes roar with all guns pointed at the enemy."

There has been speculation for weeks about a leadership challenge to Mr Duncan Smith - which would be sparked by 25 Tory MPs writing letters calling for a vote.

Vote support

Former whip Derek Conway told the Today programme some sort of vote should be called to resolve the issue once and for all.

"People are starting to be a bit fed up with the protracted nature of this," he said.

"There is no question about my leadership" Iain Duncan Smith

"I spoke yesterday to at least three people who are very, very close, personal, long-standing supporters of Iain Duncan Smith... who themselves thought he has got to do something to bring this to a head, and maybe an election is the way to do it.

"These were not people who are his enemies, who don't believe he's up to the job or any of that, these are people who are absolutely committed to him.

"Even those who take that view do feel the only way to get closure on this is for the parliamentary party to express a view."

The senior backbencher added that he believed Mr Duncan Smith would win a vote of confidence in him if one was called.

Former Conservative cabinet minister Geoffrey Howe said that "yet another regime change" risked reinforcing the the message that the party was deeply divided.

Instead, said Lord Howe, Mr Duncan Smith should show humility and reconciliation by reaching out to senior Tories on the back benches to produce a much more experienced shadow cabinet.