Iain Duncan Smith is confident about the Conservatives' prospects

Mr Duncan Smith, speaking at the end of a two-day shadow cabinet gathering, said the party was ready to "stand up for the British people and say 'enough is enough'" to a government he claimed was failing on many fronts.

The "awayday" meeting at Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire was called to put the finishing touches to a policy platform that will be unveiled at next month's Tory conference in Blackpool.

It will also form the basis for the Conservative's next election manifesto.

Mr Duncan Smith, who has led the party for the past two years, told reporters the polls showed the British public had lost patience with the government on issues like crime, health, education and asylum.

He said: "The Government has absolutely failed to deliver and people are really angry.

"Quite rightly, we now have tough policies on all of these areas: putting more police on the streets; tightening up on asylum by making sure we have a quota system so that people won't get in who shouldn't be.

This is the best political position we have had for 10 years Iain Duncan Smith Conservative leader

"But the key message is that the government that is failing is not just hurting itself through its failure, it is hurting the British people.

"We are going to stand up for the British people and say 'enough is enough'."

"Flatlining"

But Mr Duncan Smith did not release any details about the decisions taken at the awayday on party strategy.

For the first 18 months of his leadership, Mr Duncan Smith was dogged by accusations he had failed to end the decade of Tory "flatlining" at about 30%-32% in the polls.

But in recent months, with Prime Minister Tony Blair facing difficulties over Iraq and public service reform, the Conservatives have notched up more encouraging ratings, registering support of over 35% and small majorities over Labour in some polls.

Mr Duncan Smith said: "This is the best political position we have had for 10 years, 10 points better than we were at the beginning of the year, just ahead of the Government - give or take - whichever polls you look at."