TORY PLAN TO 'GET BRITAIN WORKING'

The Tory leader told the meeting in Salford, Greater Manchester, it was one of 13 such events taking place hosted by members of the shadow cabinet from Plymouth to Tynemouth.

He said he wanted to hear from the 60 or so local business people and Tory party members gathered at The Lowry arts centre, about their own ideas to get the economy moving again.

The initiative by the Conservative Party is part of a strategy to make the running on the economy after being labelled the "do nothing" party by Labour.

Mr Cameron said the Tories had already suggested a raft of measures but he would be in "receive rather than transmit mode" looking for ideas from businessmen and listening.

Mr Cameron said Labour's stamp duty freeze had not worked but it was difficult to know in such a housing downturn, the right time for intervention.

He added: "It seems to me the most important thing is to get banks lending again to businesses.

"Businesses large, medium and small are all writing to me saying effectively the same thing, my credit line has been withdrawn, my overdraft facility has been taken away... I'm having to lay people off.

"The biggest thing we have to do is recognise the recapitalisation of the banks was fine in that it stopped banks falling over and going bust, but it's not got them lending again properly."

Mr Cameron said government borrowing was a reason why Sterling had fallen and he was a firm believer in floating exchange rates - as he was in the Treasury during the ERM debacle of the 1990s.