Iain Duncan Smith has today made a bold bid to retain the Conservative leadership.

Whilst he described the last six weeks as a "vision from hell" he vowed to fight on.

The embattled Tory leader said rank-and-file members had given him their support. And he asked his colleagues to "endorse that mandate".

"Over the last two years, the policies that we have developed have allowed us to unite. We have an opportunity today. The tide is turning against this Labour government," he said.

"We must be united and focused to take our opportunity. The last two years have been a steep learning curve for me and I have made mistakes, but it is not a question of whether I have made mistakes but whether I have learned from them."

Insisting he "is not a quitter", the Chingford MP hopes he can mount an 11th hour fightback to save his position.

"Defeat doesn't begin on the battlefield it begins in our hearts. For 10 years, whoever was leader of our party, we came to believe that there was always someone better out there. But there's no white knight who can take us to victory.

"Victory will only be delivered by hard work, unity and purpose. Whatever the result, there will be no recriminations. That's not my style.

"We must end the bitterness that has tarnished our party, not just for two years but for the last ten years.

"If you give me your support today, I will use all my energy and all of my time and all of my efforts to defeat this dishonest, cynical, failing Labour government.''

Writing in the Times newspaper, he said he would not be "walking away from my duty to my party".

"It is my duty to protect the achievements of my leadership. It is my duty to address the shortcomings of my leadership. And it is my duty to warn my party of the grave consequences of a leadership election," he added.

Stressing that he has made significant progress since being elected, he said: "My first duty is to protect the achievements of the past two years. They are achievements that belong to the whole of my frontbench team.

"When I became leader, in the shadow of the tragedy of September 11, we lacked a policy programme, a political strategy and a campaign plan. We now have them.

"We have caught up with Labour in the polls and have re-established ourselves as the largest party in local government. We are united on Europe for the first time in a generation.

"And perhaps most importantly of all, we have policies on pensions, law and order and the public services that are popular, genuinely Conservative and which will make a real difference to people's lives."

And the embattled leader insisted that "halfway through the parliament, we are halfway to Downing Street".

Acknowledging past errors, Duncan Smith said that things were set to get better under his leadership.

"I know that the road ahead is easier than the road we have travelled. Now is not the time to turn back. Over recent days I have held many conversations with colleagues," he wrote.

"I have listened and have heard what they are saying about my leadership. I have a deeper understanding of the shortcomings of the past two years, and of what needs to be done to address them. That is my second duty: to develop as a leader.

"No book has been written on how to be leader of the opposition, and I have made mistakes. Not all of my staff appointments have been successful, but I have now built a team of senior advisers that can take us to the next election."