David Cameron said last night that the "only one way you can improve people's living standards" is to secure a recovery and "then you have got to cut people's taxes".
Mr Cameron told The Sunday Telegraph: "We do have to do more to explain how we are going to help people with the cost of living."
He also insisted he was "not chasing off to the right" and was "very firmly anchored where I have always been".
"Yes, I want to win back voters from Ukip," he told the newspaper.
"But let me be clear, I am also a Prime Minister who is a modern compassionate Conservative who believes that there is a very important role for government in making sure that we look after the poorest in our society, that we are a compassionate society, that we give people opportunities who aren't necessarily born with them. We are not going to abandon that."
It comes as further revelations emerged from a book giving a glimpse into the heart of government, In It Together by Matthew d'Ancona.
The PM expressed private regret over pushing ahead with gay marriage reforms in the face of fierce opposition from many of his backbenchers, it claims.
The book says Mr Cameron told an ally: "If I'd known what it was going to be like, I wouldn't have done it."
Clashes between George Osborne and Iain Duncan Smith reportedly led to the Chancellor claiming the Work and Pensions Secretary is "not clever enough".
Mr Duncan Smith, however, found Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne being in office comparable to "Ant and Dec" running the country, according to a friend.
