Row over race card in by-election fight

A key by-election battle descended into bitterness today as Labour and the Liberal Democrats accused each other of playing the race card.

In a clear bid to woo white voters in the Birmingham Hodge Hill poll, Home Office minister Caroline Flint claimed Charles Kennedy had opposed the Government's plans to get tough with illegal immigration and asylum abuse.

But the Liberal Democrats also came under fire for publishing race-specific leaflets in the by-election, with different messages for white and Asian communities in the seat.

The by-election will be held on 15 July and, along with another contest in Leicester South, will form a key test of Tony Blair's popularity with a general electionless than a year away. The Liberal Democrats hope they can overturn majorities of more than 10,000 in both seats by capitalising on opposition to the Iraq war. But the Tories have put huge efforts into the seats too to show they can mount a challenge to Labour.

However, a new opinion poll showed that Michael Howard's personal popularity with voters had plummeted.

The Mori poll found dissatisfaction with the Tory leader had nearly doubled from 22 per cent in January to 38 per cent now. The survey also gave Labour a lead of 34 per cent to the Conservatives' 31 per cent. The Lib-Dems were on 19 per cent.