David Cameron has complained of the “buggeration factor” of trying to push through policies while in office.
Although he did not repeat Tony Blair’s claim to have “scars on my back” from fighting Whitehall, the prime minister said that things could be “a bit Fifty Shades of Grey”.
He also told the Financial Times that he hoped his legacy would be keeping the United Kingdom together and within a reformed European Union.
He said he would stay in post for five years if returned to office in the election on May 7. “I’m standing for a full term and that is what I want to serve,” he said.
In a separate interview with the newspaper, Tim Farron, one of the favourites to be the next leader of the Liberal Democrats, has warned that his party’s leadership deserves only “two out of ten” for its handling of life inside the coalition.
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In what will be seen as an attack on Nick Clegg’s stewardship, Mr Farron said the Lib Dems had been out- manoeuvred over key policies in ways that had caused serious damage to the party’s reputation.
Indicating that he wanted to take the party in a new direction, he warned that the Lib Dems should have blocked controversial Tory health reforms and spotted the potential damage inflicted by the U-turn on increasing student fees. “You’re not going to bring the government down on something like the NHS reforms if you say, ‘No, it’s not happening’ ,” he said.
Prior of the party’s spring conference, which opens today in Liverpool and is the last gathering of members before the election, he said that the Lib Dems should “actively consider” signing up to an agreement short of a formal coalition after the next election. He also said that he was poised to help with “the thrill of rebuilding” that is likely to be needed after polling day. He believed that the Lib Dems would hold on to more than half their 57 seats.