Rivals take to the air

Opposition leaders threw themselves into the election campaign today with whistlestop tours of key cities and constituencies.

Michael Howard and Charles Kennedy were criss-crossing the country for a schedule of high-profile appearances.

Mr Kennedy's itinerary saw him jetting between London, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Edinburgh and Norwich, while Mr Howard was heading to Birmingham and Sale, Manchester. This series of engagements sets the scene for the next four weeks, during which the party leaders hope to visit every target constituency.

Mr Kennedy is anxious to display his energy and enthusiasm for the campaign after a month dominated by Conservative-led attacks on Labour.

His wife Sarah is due to give birth to their first child within two weeks - sparking speculation that he might be forced to take time off in the middle of the campaign.

Mr Howard launched the Conservative campaign in High Holborn with an attack on the "smirking politics" of Tony Blair and the "woolly thinking" of the Liberal Democrats.

With his wife Sandra at his side, he said: "Tony Blair is already secretly grinning at the prospect of his third victory. Well, you don't have to settle for that."

He accused Tony Blair's government of "losing the plot". and said his party would not shy away from controversial issues during the campaign.

"Some people say I should not talk about difficult issues like abuse of our asylum system, or travellers who stick two fingers up at the law.

"But we cannot make Britain a better place if we sweep difficult issues under the carpet.

Everyone knows you won't fix a problem if you aren't even prepared to discuss it,"he said.

Mr Kennedy launched his campaign with a rallying cry to Liberal Democrat candidates claiming his party was the biggest threat to Labour in many cities for this election.

"It is the Liberal Democrats that are challenging Labour in its urban heartlands. In the last local elections the voters in Newcastle chose the Liberal Democrats to run their city. We run Liverpool too. We are challenging in Manchester, Leeds and Cardiff.

"We have a clear vision for our towns and cities - green, clean, safe and affordable places where people want to live," he said.

The party is striving to regain the initiative after weeks dominatedby Tory-led attacks on the NHS, law and order and the economy.

The Lib-Dems' key pledge to abolish council tax - regarded as their biggest potential vote winner - must compete with a new promise by Labour to cut council tax for the elderly by ?200.

During his tour today, Mr Kennedy was outlining his party's plans for towns and cities, focusing on more resources for the police, replacing council tax with a local income tax and increasing affordable housing.

The Liberal Democrats are also promising 10,000 more police on the streets. They pledge to replace council tax with what they believe is a "fairer" system based on income.