Howard launches manifesto

Michael Howard today portrayed himself as a seasoned "battler" as he unveiled the Conservative election manifesto.

The Tory leader aimed to turn his age and experience to his advantage in the most personalised policy launch yet.

Unveiling a slim, 28-page set of pledges which did not have his picture on the cover, Mr Howard said: "Frankly, I'm 63 years old. I've fought many battles in my life. I've battled the union bullies that once crippled our economy.

"I battled the judges and the legal establishment that said crime couldn't be confronted.

"I've battled to get where I am from a state school in a small town in South Wales."

Mr Howard admitted he could choose to claim a pension instead of fighting the election - an arena where his mature years and past record as a minister under Margaret Thatcher have been exploited by rivals. "But I am not going to do that because there's another battle I have to fight," he added.

Holding aloft his election manifesto, he said: "I love my country and I know it can be a much, much better place to live than it is today. So I am going into battle for Britain."

Mr Howard also launched some of his most personal attacks on Tony Blair. A Labour victory would mean "five more years of smirking" from the Prime Minister. Copying one of Labour's 1997 slogans, he asked people to imagine waking up on 6 May to another term of Mr Blair.

Backing Labour or the Liberal Democrats would, he claimed, be "a vote for higher taxes, more immigration and softer sentences for murderers and rapists".

The Tory manifesto contained no policy surprises, and the longawaited final details on promised income tax cuts were kept out to be unveiled later in the campaign. But the document promised that a tax-cutting budget would be introduced "within a month" of taking office.

Most of its content was familiar, such as promises to clean up dirty hospitals by bringing back ward matrons, 40,000 more police and an annual limit on immigration.

The manifesto carried the five key slogans that have since autumn been emblazoned on every Tory pamphlet: "Lower taxes, school discipline, cleaner hospitals, more police, controlled immigration. It's time for action."

With a bitter row raging over immigration, Mr Howard sought to avoid Labour charges of overheating the issue by emphasising his own background as the child of a Jewish refugee.

"As the child of immigrants, as a state school pupil, as the first person in my family to go to university, I am driven by a profound sense of pride in Britain."

Mr Howard defended the lack of detail in his manifesto. He said it was a slim document because he wanted people to read it. "It is a very readable document," he added.

Tax promises would follow soon but "at a time of our choosing", he said, denying claims the party was recalculating its sums. Labour's Alan Milburn branded the manifesto a "fraud" and a "disaster waiting to happen".