First Election Battle Cries Made

Britain's main political parties today sounded their first pre-election battle cries.

The Tories pledged their utmost support for the NHS, making the health service its "number one priority".

Conservative leader David Cameron said his party would reform maternity legislation to "meet mothers' needs".

He played down budget gaps in his spending plans, highlighted earlier in a Labour dossier.

Mr Cameron said the Government's claims were "junk".

Liberal Democrats accused both the Tories and Labour of becoming "increasingly alike".

Gordon Brown must call a Westminster election by June, with speculation mounting that on 6 May the United Kingdom will go to the polls.

Today, Mr Cameron claimed health inequalities across the country "are as wide as they were in Victorian times".

He said a Tory Government would bolster the NHS while tackling budget deficits.

Mr Cameron told the BBC he would not make any "false promises" on spending or tax cuts.

"I want this to be a positive campaign about the change we would bring," he said. "We are putting across a positive message."

At an earlier press conference, Chancellor Alistair Darling said Conservative spending plans, in the region of £45bn, would hit a £34bn "credibility gap".

"You can't fight an election on a nod and a wink; sometimes claiming you are committed to these promises, and when challenged claiming you are not," he said.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham claimed the Tories could not be trusted with the NHS, suggesting the opposition would scrap waiting time targets.

Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg said the other two parties are attempting to convince the electorate they are polls apart.

"But it seems to me that they are increasingly alike. You have the chancellor, Alistair Darling, who delivered a pre-Budget report where the sums didn't add up and now accusing the Conservatives, because their sums don't add up," he said.

(PR/GK)