David Cameron has described the General Election as “career-defining” in a slip-up during a question and answer session on the campaign trail.

The Prime Minister immediately corrected himself while speaking at Asda’s headquarters in Leeds, saying it was a “country-defining” election.

But Labour’s press team quickly tweeted: “Revealing Cameron slip up at Q&A – says the election is ‘career defining’ … It’s all about Dave.”

Labour adviser and former Obama campaign chief David Axelrod described it as a “Freudian slip”.

He tweeted: “The PM’s Freudian slip showing? In speaking to crowd, Cameron describes next week’s vote as ‘career defining’, before subbing word ‘country’.”

Shadow cabinet office minister Jon Ashworth said: “The problem with David Cameron is he always gets his priorities wrong. He puts his career before country, just as he puts a privileged few before working people.”

UKIP’s economic spokesman Patrick O’Flynn piled in, writing on Twitter: “Guess that’s the ultimate comment of a career politician from David Cameron.”

He used the opportunity to say that Ed Miliband’s insistence that he will not lead a Labour government dependent on a deal with the SNP “changes nothing”.

“Is he really saying ‘If Labour don’t get a majority, but Labour and the Scottish National Party is a majority, I won’t be prime minister’?

“Of course he is not saying that. So the threat today is the same as the threat yesterday – Ed Miliband propped up by the SNP, not governing on behalf of the whole of the country. That’s the problem, and Labour shadow ministers have been out this morning confirming that my view is correct.”

Meanwhile Labour leader Ed Miliband was in Cardiff on Friday morning, while Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg was in Manchester supporting local candidates.

Mr Clegg said Mr Miliband’s refusal to do deals in the event of a hung parliament was “ludicrous”.

Speaking at a golf club in the marginal Manchester Withington seat, he said: “Ed Miliband will have to eat his words. It’s just a  democratic fact. It’s such a silly thing to say.”