DAVID Cameron must use the Conservative Party conference to set out a "clear path" showing where he is taking his country, one of his backbench MPs from Hampshire said today.

Caroline Nokes, Tory MP for Romsey and Southampton North, said while activists gathering in Birmingham this week were positive about the future, many in the country found talk of spending cuts "very gloomy", and needed reassurance.

She said: "What's important this week is we set out a clear path of where we are going. There is a real mood of optimism about here, but a lot of people find the economic situation, with talk of cuts, very gloomy. It's important we retain our optimism. If we bring the deficit down there's life at the end of the tunnel."

Mrs Nokes said she was looking in particular for a "pretty robust performance" from Home Secretary Theresa May, who needed to sound "tough on crime" in her speech on Tuesday.

Noting that many of her constituents were concerned about rural crime, theft and burglary, and that crime sometimes increased in economic downturns, the MP called for reassurances that policing levels would not be cut back.

She said: "People are concerned about cuts to frontline policing, and I don't think we can afford that. It would have a hugely detrimental impact. I want a very clear message on how efficiencies can be made without cutting frontline policing."