Party leaders rally supporters

Tony Blair was challenged over Iraq by Mohammed Jaffer http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4506813.stm Party leaders rally supporters Tony Blair was challenged over Iraq by Mohammed JafferThe main party leaders have tried to motivate their supporters for the final day of campaigning in a series of election rallies. At a rally in Huddersfield, Tony Blair urged voters to tell the Conservatives they did not want them back in office. Tory leader Michael Howard hit back in a speech in Folkestone with an attack on the "discredited" Labour government. Charles Kennedy has meanwhile claimed the Lib Dems are on the brink of their best result in a generation. Travelling campaigns The three rallies concluded a day of frantic campaigning in marginal constituencies across the country. Mr Howard's itinerary included Tamworth, Loughborough, Rushden and Folkestone, the port town which also featured on Mr Kennedy's whistle-stop tour, along with Weston, Watford, and London. Mr Blair, joined by Chancellor Gordon Brown, visited Gloucester, Telford and Preston. British soldiers have done an extraordinary job in Iraq helping that country become a stable democracy Tony Blair Day at-a-glance Ending the day with the Huddersfield rally, he said he was proud of Labour's record but excited because there was more it could achieve. Mr Blair said a Conservative government would jeopardise jobs, mortgages, homes and living standards. He lampooned Mr Howard's calls for voters to send him a message. "I think the British people should send him a message - we have seen your campaign, we have seen your leadership, we have seen your Conservative Party and we don't want it back in charge of our country," he said. Mr Blair also hinted that former Home Secretary David Blunkett was set for a return to the Cabinet. Families' anger Iraq again cast a shadow over Labour's campaign, with relatives of other troops killed in Iraq have warned they intend to take legal action to force a full public inquiry into the war. The wife of Anthony Wakefield, the British soldier killed in Iraq on Monday, blamed Mr Blair for his death. Charles Kennedy compared Iraq to Suez Mr Blair said he had offered his condolences and deep sympathy to the soldier's widow, Ann Toward, and saluted the work of British soldiers but did not think he should say more than that. Campaigning in Gloucester, Mr Blair was challenged about his trustworthiness by a Muslim voter, Mohammed Jaffer. 'Apologise' Mr Jaffer said: "I think you have done a fantastic job of running this country, but foreign policy you need to look at really close up. "We have lost hundreds of lives, thousands of lives. We got the impression you were just following President Bush." He later told reporters he would vote for Mr Blair if he just apologised to the British public and said "forgive me". Michael Howard promised a "brighter future" Mr Blair told Mr Jaffer prime ministers had to take difficult decisions and said it was the economy, the health service, schools and law and order which affected people. For the Conservatives, Mr Howard told GMTV he wanted to stick up for the "forgotten majority" in Britain who played by the rules. He played down his party's performance in the opinion polls. "It's not the polls or the pollsters that are going to decide this election - it's real people out there. Real people who are still weighing up what's best for them, what's best for the country." Full list of Folkestone candidates At an evening rally in his Folkestone constituency, Mr Howard kept his focus on his priorities of cleaner hospitals, controlled immigration, more police, school discipline and lower taxes. "You can take a stand in two days time, you can put an end to a failing, discredited government, you can give our country hope again." At a Lib Dem rally in a London theatre, Mr Kennedy said the Conservatives were "the party of the past" while Labour was running scared of his party. He predicted the Lib Dems would win significantly more seats on Thursday, hailing his plans to give more power to doctors. And he said: "Tony Blair is going to be a lame duck Prime Minister. "I predict this: Iraq is going to haunt the history, the evaluation of this premiership - and whatever legacy he leaves behind, just as potently as Suez did for Sir Anthony Eden all those years ago." Earlier, UK Independence Party leader Roger Knapman urged voters who backed his party at last year's European elections to continue their support and not be "part-time patriots". The Green Party urged people to "vote for what they believe in" by opting for its policies.