LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday vowed to stick to austerity, rejecting calls to focus more on economic growth despite the country’s recent embarrassing credit ratings downgrade.

Cameron argued the U.K. is beginning to see signs that the size of its debt is falling thanks to his government’s tough spending cuts and tax increases and said changing that approach risks plunging Britain “back into the abyss.”

“There are signs that our plan is beginning to work,” he said in a speech in northern England.

Cameron noted the U.K.’s budget deficit was decreasing and that the government’s borrowing rates on bond markets were at record lows — an indication international investors are confident the country will be able to pay off its debts. He also cited signs of a recovery in exports.

“The very moment when we’re just getting some signs that we can turn our economy round and make our country a success … is the very moment to hold firm to the path we have set,” he said.

Cameron’s Conservative Party and its junior coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, have pledged to cut Britain’s debts, which had piled up amid the global financial crisis and costly banking bailouts.