Rattled Tories in TV plea

Conservative Party strategists have written to TV chiefs asking presenters and reporters not to call them "Tory" on air.

In a memo leaked to the Evening Standard, head of broadcasting press Michael Salter says it would be "nice" if the party could be referred to by its official name.

He wants television news editors to tell reporting staff to use the word Conservative at least once in their reports.

The request came as former deputy party chairman Howard Flight, who was sacked for suggesting the Tories had secret plans to cut public spending, risked playing into the hands of his critics by speaking up in favour of a "low-cost NHS".

The Tories faced further embarrassment on the health service today after a spokesman suggested the NHS Direct phoneline should be scrapped. The party wants to " rationalise" the ?120million-a-year service as part of efficiency savings.

Mr Salter's memo about the use of the term "Tory" will fuel speculation that party insiders are worried about their image as the general election approaches.

The party faces repeated jibes from Labour that it is "stuck in the past". Labour's campaign posters are designed to present the Conservatives as out of touch.

Some MPs believe the term Tory - which dates back to the 17th century - is too "fuddy duddy" and old-fashioned. It comes from an Irish word meaning outlaw or robber. Party members have said it sounds derogatory and is too closely associated with the Thatcher era.

Today the party insisted it was not trying to overhaul its image, saying the request was simply to prevent any confusion among voters.

Mr Salter added: "The word Tory is common parlance, and we understand that. It would just be good if at least at some point during reports, our official name was used. It is just about adding clarity."

The party resisted pressure to change its name in the wake of disastrous results at the 1997 and 2001 general elections. Some MPs still believe they need a new name to emphasise that the party has changed direction.

Senior Tories have not ruled out a name change if they fail to see a big surge at the next election. Names including the Democrats, New Democrats, and Reform Conservatives were among possible options when a rebranding was discussed by advisers last autumn.

The Tories were today battling to contain the fallout from the sacking of Mr Flight. The move has triggered an internal war - with some party supporters accusing Michael Howard of over-reacting when he barred the MP from contesting his Arundel and South Downs seat.

Mr Flight added to the controversy over Tory spending plans by saying: "The old virtue of the NHS was that it was, bluntly, a relatively low-cost way of delivering reasonably good healthcare. What's happened since is that it's actually become high-cost for delivering pretty mediocre healthcare."

There was also confusion today over whether the Tories would abolish the NHS Direct helpline - used by thousands of patients as an alternative to consulting their GP.

The Conservatives told a newspaper they might "streamline" the service but, in an apparent U-turn, later said there would be no cuts.

NHS Direct takes up to 30,000 calls and 20,000 website hits a day. However, many users say staff take far too long to respond to queries.