David Cameron has flagged up how important the battle for votes in the far south west of England is for the Tories if the party is to win a majority.
During a rally in Cornwall, the prime minister identified three seats currently held by the Lib Dems in the county that he believes are up for grabs – St Ives, St Austell and Newquay, and Cornwall North.
Cameron told a gathering of around 250 grassroots members, local councillors and candidates: “You are political fighters”, urged them to promote the record of the Tory-led government on the doorstep – and promised to return to the west country during the campaign.
The south west of England has long been a key Lib Dem stronghold but the Tories believe that party leader Nick Clegg’s unpopularity means they may be able to win a slew of seats across the region.
Cornwall was the fourth leg of Cameron’s one-day round-Britain tour. His battle bus was driven into a giant agricultural shed at the Royal Cornwall Showground, near Wadebridge.
Cameron alighted with his wife, Samantha. He joked that she wanted to visit Cornwall because she liked the BBC drama series Poldark – and he was keen to finish his whistlestop trip with fish and chips and a pint of the local beer, Doom Bar. He knows the area well because he often takes family holidays nearby.
Tie-less and with shirt sleeves rolled up, Cameron said: “We’ve got 30 days to go… This election is about what sort of United Kingdom we want.”
He said he had been too busy to watch Tony Blair speak earlier but told the audience the former prime minister had said the British people should not be trusted to make a decision about Europe. “I totally disagree. We should trust the British people,” Cameron said.
Cameron told party workers to talk to voters about the government’s reforms on schools, benefits and pensions – and about its record on the NHS.
He said they should ask voters: “Who do you want to be in charge at a time of great danger?” Did they want the shadow chancellor Ed Balls, the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and the Labour leader Ed Miliband to govern?
The prime minister urged people to discuss the Tory team that had been in government. “This is a leadership team that has delivered for Britain,” he said.
