Parties enter campaign’s final days
The day’s campaigning began with Chancellor Gordon Brown arguing Parliament should take the final decision on whether the country should go to war. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph this morning, the Chancellor said the Commons vote on Iraq in 2003 had set a “precedent”.
At lunchtime, he delivered a speech to a party rally in Edinburgh, warning of the dangers of traditional Labour voters not turning out to vote at the election. He reminded voters of Labour’s economic record and ripped into the Tory spending plans, including £35 billion cuts to public spending. The Chancellor was joined by the Scottish Secretary Alistair Darling, who pleaded with Scottish voters not to vote Conservative at the general election on Thursday.
Starting his day in London, Labour’s Health Secretary John Reid said a third term Labour government would ensure more choice in maternity services and increased investment in palliative care.
He compared Labour’s agenda with that of the Conservatives, accusing them of proposing to take over £1 billion out of the NHS to subsidise those who could afford private healthcare.
Conservative leader Michael Howard laid out his plans for a Britain where everyone has the “best possible chance” to fulfil their potential. In a speech in Kent, Mr Howard promised a government that “never stops taking action on the things that matter”. He focused much of his speech on crime, flagging up his record as Home Secretary when, he said, crime fell by 18 per cent.
Meanwhile, Dr Liam Fox, Co- Chairman of the Conservative Party, attacked Labour for “corrupting” Britain’s electoral practices. Speaking in the Woodspring constituency where he hopes to be re-elected, Dr Fox said a Conservative Government would work towards “restoring confidence and integrity to British democracy”.
The Liberal Democrats focused on their plans to scrap NHS targets, provide freedom to NHS staff, and combat hospital acquired infections.
Campaigning in the Scottish Highlands, the party’s leader, Charles Kennedy dismissed the Conservatives’ election prospects and rubbished Labour claims that a vote for the Lib Dems would let the Tories in “by the back door”.
After posing for photos with his wife and baby son, Donald, Mr Kennedy said, “people should feel free to go out vote what they believe in and what they agree with”.
Staying in Scotland, the SNP took their campaign to a Glasgow shopping centre, where party leader Alex Salmond handed out large Saltire flags to shoppers. The party aims to distribute 250,000 flags to members of the public during the May holiday weekend.
