Tories in rally cry for victory

Mrs Margaret Thatcher dispatched her troops to the country last night with a passionate warning against complacency, a glowing account of the Government's “fantastic record of achievement” , and the promise that no party had ever entered a campaign with so many positive plans for the future.

In a rousing 15-minute address to the backbench 1922 committee, which was greeted by prolonged desk-thumping, the Prime Minister said: “We are on the brink of battle” .

She said that it was vital that the issues were not lost in detail. “We all have to fight every hour of the day. We must not and will not get complacent.”

The Tory manifesto would be longer than usual, but full of ideas and proof that the Conservatives were still moving forward. The Prime Minister confirmed that it would include commitments to further trade union reform and further privatization.

She warned that there would be difficult periods in the campaign but the answer was to argue the Government's policies positively. Her government had taken Britain out of decline and it faced a bright future, but it was up to the party to see that future was achieved.

She dismissed out of hand the idea of coalition governments.

The Government's policies were “bringing about one nation in a way no previous Tory government had been able to deliver” , she said.

Earlier, Mr Neil Kinnock clashed bitterly with Mrs Thatcher over the Government's stewardship of the National Health Service in the last Prime Minister's questions of this Parliament.

The Labour leader accused Mrs Thatcher of being ignorant of the pain and anxiety suffered by people waiting for treatment.

He said there were 750,000 people waiting for hospital treatment.