Tories need reassessment - Hague

William Hague said the party had good results at the local elections

The Conservatives still have work to do if they are to beat Labour at the next general election, shadow foreign secretary William Hague says.

Mr Hague said the Conservatives did not underestimate the political skills of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, but David Cameron had made a confident start.

He said the party needed "space and time to have [a] big reassessment" of policies ahead of the general election.

The local election results showed the party "was doing something right".

We think that the voters like what they've seen so far of David Cameron and the changing party William Hague

At the 4 May elections, the Conservatives had a net gain of 316 seats, while Labour had a net loss of 319.

A day after the vote, on the projected share of the votes if the local polls were held nationwide, the Conservatives were on 40%, ahead of the Lib Dems' 27% and Labour's 26%.

Mr Hague told BBC Five Live: "We think that the voters like what they've seen so far of David Cameron and the changing party.

"I do think that we have to show what sort of party we are like, and in what respects we have changed, and give a very strong, positive impression of ourselves, which we've not succeeded in doing in recent years, before people will listen in detail to our policies," he said.

"But you do have to give us the space and time to have that big re-assessment and to come out with our policies over the couple of years that will still be left between next summer and the next general election."