Cameron says he is 'no heir to Blair' as he unveils new Tory rail policy

The Conservatives are "halfway up the mountain" towards victory in the next general election, David Cameron declared, as he insisted that he was no "heir to Blair".

The Tory leader said he "winced" at comparisons with the Prime Minister but insisted that the "whole approach" of his politics was different. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Cameron insisted that the Conservatives were making progress across the country.

He will travel to Leeds today to launch a transport policy putting rail travel at the heart of Conservative plans for tackling climate change and challenging the Government to tackle rail overcrowding. "If we are to meet our international obligations on climate change, it is clear that we need a major increase in rail use. Trains are the most environmentally effective way of getting around," he said.

Asked yesterday if he believed the Tories could win a general election, he said: "Yes, I think we can do it. I'm not one of those politicians who every rally they go to say 'we will win, it's in the bag'. It isn't, it's up to the British people.

"We've made huge progress; we're halfway up the mountain, as I like to put it. We've still got a long way to go. But I think people are seeing a Conservative party that's changed, that's back in the centre ground, is concentrating on the issues people care about."

He expressed admiration for Mr Blair's electoral record but insisted that there was clear water between Labour and the Conservatives. He said: "I admire the fact he won three elections in a row. But our whole approach to politics is different, because in the end politics is either trusting big government - that's Blair - or actually trusting people and sharing responsibility with them, and trying to create a more responsible society. That's me.

"To me it's an enormous difference: ID cards: he wants them, I don't like them; regional government: I can't hear it, he wants to introduce it; the health service and public services: he wants top-down targets and government control, I want to set our professionals free."

The Tories will try to overcome their record as the architects of rail privatisation with a challenge to ministers to spend up to £8bn from increased franchise deals on tackling overcrowding. Chris Grayling, the shadow Transport minister, will call on the government to back projects such as the expansion of Birmingham New Street station and the expansion of the London Thameslink service to make an immediate impact on journeys.

Mr Cameron will pledge to put railways "at the heart" of Tory transport policy, saying that a switch to rail is the only way to meet Britain's obligation to cut greenhouse gas emissions.