London ? Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted Monday he was staying in his job despite calls from some within his Labour Party for him to step down after a poor showing in local elections and a string of scandals that have pummeled his popularity.

He lashed out against party rebels trying to oust him, saying his victory in last year’s general election showed that the British people want him in charge. Although he renewed a pledge to step aside before the end of his current third term, he warned that some of those asking for a departure date want to drag the party back to the left and outside of the political mainstream.

“I will fight that all the way,” Blair said at his monthly news conference.

An energized Conservative opposition sought to capitalize on Blair’s troubles and their own successes in local elections Thursday. Tory leader David Cameron called a news conference just an hour before Blair’s and said his party would provide better leadership than Labour.

“This is a state of civil war at the highest levels of government,” said Cameron, who leads the strongest opposition Blair has faced since he took office in 1997. “They are incompetent … running out of steam, running out of ideas, divided from top to bottom.”