The Conservative Party is in the strongest position for a decade, Iain Duncan Smith has claimed.

The statement followed a two day meeting of the Shadow Cabinet at which the party's high command fine tuned policy announcements to be revealed at next month's party conference.

"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," Duncan Smith told Sky News.

"The government have 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.

"Everywhere, we have delivered policies and we will deliver more.

"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'."

The meeting of the Conservative high command came in the wake of Duncan Smith's assault on Labour's "control state".

Buoyed by marginal improvements in the opinion polls, the shadow Cabinet focussed on the next phase of Duncan Smith's leadership.

But the meeting was overshadowed by the party's failure to capitalise on a disastrous summer for the prime minister and his government.

The gathering comes as the party faces a key test in next week's Brent East by election - where the Liberal Democrats could squeeze the Tories into third place.

Shadow ministers are examining plans for the Tory manifesto and agreed themes for next month's party conference.

Despite a pledge to reduce tax, the party accepts that schools, hospitals, transport and crime will be the central themes of the general election.

Duncan Smith has already announced plans to scrap university tuition fees and recruit 40,000 new police officers.

Hoping to capitalise on Labour's current difficulties, the Conservative leader last week pledged to "give direct control over public services to those who depend on them".

"We will free public service professionals from total politics, will give citizens real choice through a real range of different providers, and where choice does not apply - as in the police force - we will ensure that local communities, not remote officials, decide local priorities," he said.

The Conservative leader last week mounted a fresh assault on the government - vowing to scrap Labour's "command state".

"There is a disease at the heart of Tony Blair's government. That disease is total politics," Duncan Smith said.

"The Hutton inquiry has laid bare the way this government works. For New Labour, politics is everywhere and everything.

"The summer's events have shown that the government's basic instinct is not to govern, but to control.

"New Labour talks about front-line staff - but expects them to take their orders from Whitehall."