Party leaders clash in Commons

There were reportedly 'rowdy' scenes in the House of Commons today as the leaders of the three main political parties clashed during the final Prime Minister's Question Time.

Prime Minister Tony Blair claimed that Labour was the party of "economic competence and accused the Conservatives of "running away" from the issue. Mr Blair also said that he was proud of the investment, which had been made in public services, such as schools and the NHS.

However, Conservative leader Michael Howard attacked the Prime Minister, accusing him of breaking the party's 1997 election pledges, which included promises not to increase National Insurance contributions or introduce university fees.

During an increasingly rowdy question time, Conservative MPs chanted "Up! Up! Up!" as Mr Howard listed a variety of topics such as taxes, crime, immigration and hospital waiting times and "Down! Down! Down!" as he listed topics such as take-home pay and pensions.

Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy also criticised the government over the introduction of university top-fees and pensions, which he said were "unfair" to women, who do not automatically qualify for a full state pension.

As the election campaign gets under way, the Conservatives announced further plans to crack down on 'yob culture' today. Mr Howard announced plans to get tough on parents whose children persistently breach their anti-social behaviour orders, with proposals to subject them to supervision and, in extreme cases, strip them of their housing benefit and force them to leave their neighbourhoods.

The Liberal Democrats kicked off their official election campaign with a mini-manifesto for families, which included plans to extend pre and after school care, offer a Maternity Income Guarantee equivalent to the minimum wage of £170 per week for new mothers and increase nursery care for 3-4-year-olds.

The Prime Minister announced yesterday that the General Election would be held on May 5. Parliament will be dissolved on Monday, April 11.

The government is facing a race to rush any remaining legislation through parliament before it is dissolved. The controversial bill to make identity cards compulsory has already failed to get through and a bill proposing the creation of an offence of incitement to religious hatred has also been reported as likely to fail. A casino gambling bill has also faced numerous changes.

An opinion poll carried out by YouGov on behalf of Sky News found that Labour and the Conservatives are currently neck-and-neck each retaining around 36% of public support.

(KMcA/SP)