In the opening shots of what is likely to be a bitter campaign, Tory parliamentary candidate Richard Benyon said the planned summer leaflet campaign by the Liberals amounted to “panic.”

“The Conservatives are leaving nothing to chance, and are working to a strategy that will be effective whenever Blair calls the election,” he told newbury.net.

“A sudden flurry of activity amid fears of a November election won’t allow them to evade a weak record on law and order, a staggeringly high council tax, and the threat posed to hard-working families by their local income tax plans.”

Mr Benyon, a former soldier and opposition leader on Newbury District Council, is a high profile local figure, and in two previous attempts to unseat MP David Rendel, he has narrowed the majority from 22,000 to 2,400.

But the Tories are upbeat after improving their share in the last local and European elections in the Newbury area.