David Cameron said he was proud there was such a “talented bunch” of rivals jostling over who will succeed him as Conservative Party leader.
The Prime Minister insisted he would not be tempted to reverse his declared intent to step aside after two terms in 10 Downing Street, telling punters not to bother betting on him carrying on.
He was challenged over his plans as potential candidates in the race took their turns on the Conservative Party conference stage in Manchester.
Theresa May, who the PM said had been an “excellent” Home Secretary, and London Mayor Boris Johnson are due to address party members on Tuesday, the day after Chancellor George Osborne delivered his own set-piece.
Asked if he might yet disappoint them by staying on after 2020, Mr Cameron told Sky News: “I won’t be tempted.
“As far as I can see it, I am halfway through this job. I’ve got an immense passion for it. I leap out of bed every day feeling what an honour it is to serve this great country of ours but there’s so much for us to do.
“We’ve got a stronger economy now, let’s finish that work, let’s add to that a more secure country and let’s add to that a country where we build genuine social mobility so people can go from the bottom to the very top.
“I’ve also got a talented team behind me and after I’ve done the two terms, the 10 years, I’m sure there’ll be many talented people who put their name forward and frankly I’m proud of the fact that they are increasingly being noticed as a talented bunch.”
Asked for advice on who to put money on, he said: “I’m not really a betting man. My dad was but luckily I never really inherited the habit.
“Someone once got me at 33/1 so you never know,” he added before quickly clarifying that was not a tip.
“I am saying ‘no’. Let me be clear: I was not saying put a bet on me. I will not be there.”
Asked whether it had been a mistake to declare his intention to step down in advance, Mr Cameron told LBC radio: “No, I don’t think it was, and I certainly haven’t had enough…
“But I do think 10 years is a long time as Prime Minister and I think after that people will be ready for someone new.”
Mr Cameron rejected suggestions that Mr Johnson and Mr Osborne are at war with one another, following reports that the Mayor will use his speech to accuse the Chancellor of stealing his policies.
“That’s great that Boris is coming up with good ideas and we are applying them in the rest of the country, and I dare say some of the ideas we are coming up with in the rest of the country, Boris does in London,” said the PM.
He added: “There isn’t tension. This isn’t a Blair/Brown situation where everyone is at each other’s throats. Boris, George and I all work very closely together, we get on well together and I think you can see that.
“Look at the way London has been run. There’s not been a battle between Boris the Mayor and George the Chancellor or me the Prime Minister. We’ve delivered key things like funding Crossrail, like making sure London’s streets are safe, investing in infrastructure. It’s been a combined effort and we work very well together.”
Mr Osborne has recently faced speculation that he is setting out his stall as a potential premier by ranging beyond his Treasury brief to champion issues like the “Northern Powerhouse” regeneration of the north of England.
But Mr Cameron insisted this was not a problem, telling LBC: “He is a strong Chancellor and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t want as Chancellor someone who just counts the numbers and makes them add up.
“We run the Government very much as a team. You’ve got Theresa May who’s been Home Secretary for five years, you’ve got Philip Hammond, a very strong Foreign Secretary. But George and I have been working together for 10 years now as shadow chancellor and leader and now as Prime Minister and Chancellor.
“And the fact we work so closely together and we do work as a team, I think, is a strength of the Government rather than anything else. So I’m glad that he is a big and powerful figure who wants to do things other than just simply tax and spending decisions.”
Asked to say what he had got wrong as Prime Minister, Mr Cameron said: “There are plenty of biographies about me coming out and they’ve all got a few comments on things I got right and things I got wrong, so I’ll leave it to the biographers.”