Cameron teams up with Johnson to pep up Tory campaign

David Cameron teamed up with Boris Johnson for their first joint public appearance on the campaign trail on Wednesday, as the prime minister turned to one of his party's most popular figures to pep up the Tory election effort.

With the polls still deadlocked just over two weeks before polling day, the prime minister visited a nursery school in southwest London along with the Mayor of London - a potential future contender to replace him as party leader.

Their joint appearance promoting a Conservative pledge to double free childcare came as the prime minister intensified his attacks on a possible Labour-SNP alliance after the general election.

In a day of terse exchanges between the Conservative leader and the Scottish Nationalists, the prime minister tweeted a video of Alex Salmond joking at an SNP fundraising event that he would be writing the next Labour budget.

"This footage will shock you," Mr Cameron tweeted. "Alex Salmond laughs & boasts he'll write Labour's budget. Vote Conservative to stop it."

The former Scottish Nationalist leader responded by telling Mr Cameron to "develop a sense of humour".

The prime minister struck a more cordial tone with Mr Johnson as the two embarked on a carefully stage-managed nursery tour. The two politicians took part in hand-painting - with blue paint - and joked together as they toiled for nine minutes over a children's jigsaw, drawing a cheer when they finally completed the puzzle.

"That was a bit like the campaign . . . suddenly, the final surge," quipped Mr Johnson. "It all comes together in the end," replied the prime minister, initiating a group hug.

Conservative figures say the mayor will take a more prominent role in the final stages of the national campaign, as the party looks to use Mr Johnson's strong personal approval ratings to enliven the campaign.

But the London mayor was not entirely on message on Wednesday as he admitted he would like to one day lead the Conservative party - an issue that has risen up the agenda after Mr Cameron last month ruled out a third term.

"In the dim, distant future, obviously it would be a wonderful thing to be thought to be in a position to be considered for such an honour," Mr Johnson told Sky News.

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The campaign visit was punctuated by repeated Conservative attacks on Scottish Nationalists as Mr Cameron joked about Mr Salmond being a pickpocket in remarks broadcast on ITV's This Morning.

Conservative strategists believe repeated attacks around a possible tie-up with the Scottish Nationalists and Labour will help the party win over voters in marginal English constituencies.

A YouGov/Sun poll released this week showed a third of UK Independence Party voters may vote Conservative in order to prevent a post-election tie up between Labour and the SNP.

Mr Salmond responded to the prime minister's attacks on Wednesday with characteristic robustness. On the pickpocket jibe, the former first minister retorted that "the Tories have been picking Scotland's pocket for years".

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