David Cameron has insisted he is “taking absolutely nothing for granted” about the general election result and predicted that voters would see his decision to rule out a third term as Prime Minister as “a very reasonable, sensible thing to say”.
Asked if he regretted stating his intent not to continue beyond 2020 – which critics have warned undermines his authority and distracts from the Tory campaign for re-election on May 7 – he said people should “just focus on the issue” of who they wanted running the country.
And he dismissed calls for him to set out exactly how the Tory leadership succession would work as “endless games of political processes” that the public would not be interested in.
The PM was grilled over his shock statement, in a BBC interview broadcast last night, after addressing an Age UK summit in central London.
He said: “I am taking absolutely nothing for granted.
“My entire focus is on the next 44 days and the general election, which will decide which team runs this country for the next five years.
“I want that to be me and my team but the alternative is it is Ed Miliband and his team, and that is the focus that I have in the days ahead.
“What I did in my kitchen is I gave a very straight answer to a very straight question and I think that people will understand that – that saying you want to serve a full second term for a full five years is a very reasonable, sensible thing to say.
“So I think we should just focus on the issues at the election about who do you want to run the country for the next five years.”