David Cameron has issued a plea to voters to end the “dark room dealing” of coalition by giving him an outright majority next month.
As the Tories ramp up their attacks on Ed Miliband and Labour over potential compromises with the SNP, the Prime Minister insisted he was offering the public “security”.
He said he had done the “right thing” by forging an alliance with the Liberal Democrats in 2010, but admitted that the Government had not been properly “accountable” to voters.
“I think I have demonstrated I can work with other parties and show them the respect and work in partnership, and actually get quite a lot of things done,” Mr Cameron told a question and answer session with staff at National Grid in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
“But I think it is time for a single party government. I think it is more accountable, and I will tell you why.
“When you have a coalition you inevitably have to take your manifesto and someone else’s manifesto and you go into a dark room and you have to make exchanges and deals.
“People don’t actually get what they vote for.
“I think we are ready as a country to have a single party government, a more decisive, more accountable government. That is what I hope to deliver in the next parliament.”
The Conservatives have delayed their election manifesto launch by a day so theycan focus their fire on Labour’s document – rather than both being unveiled onMonday.
Tory sources accused Ed Miliband of trying to “avoid scrutiny” by unveiling his policy platform simultaneously.
“Labour tried to avoid scrutiny of their manifesto by doing it on the same day as ours,” a senior Tory source said. “So we are moving ours. We want them to have a full day of scrutiny and we have a full day to tell people about our plans for a better future.”
Mr Cameron has been highlighting the creation of 16,000 new apprenticeships and the Tories’ promise to deliver three million new training places if they regain power on May 7.
Morrisons is training 9,000 over the next five years while Whitbread plans to hire 6,000 more by 2020.
National Grid is taking on 500 new apprentices and Dairy Crest will take 200, as well as opening a new training academy.
Mr Cameron toured the John Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough, Leicestershire, today with Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who is defending the seat.
The Prime Minister narrowly avoided arriving in the middle of a fight, as cameras captured two cats doing battle in the street where his car was due to pull up.
He was taken around the site – which has been in operation since 1839 – by apprentice Anthony Stone, and saw bells being smelted.
The firm’s chairman Andrew Wilby also showed Mr Cameron 1889 records of the company hanging bells at the church in Peasemore, Berkshire, where his mother is a warden.
John Taylor Bells, which employs 26 people, also created the 17-tonne Great Paul bell in St Paul’s Cathedral, the biggest cast in Britain. It exports around the world, to countries including Malta and Australia.
But Mr Wilby told Mr Cameron they did not forge Parliament’s famous Big Ben – which is cracked.