LIBERAL Democrat leader Charles Kennedy brought his campaign to Michael Howard’s back yard on Tuesday as the parties geared up for a final push for votes ahead of polling day.

Mr Kennedy came to Hythe where he claimed the Lib Dems could pull off a sensational result by ousting the Conservative leader Micahel Howard, who enjoys a majority of 5,907.

He also issued what amounted to an indirect appeal to Labour supporters to consider carefully switching to his party to bolster its prospects.

An up-beat Mr Kennedy was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of supporters when he arrived in the centre of Hythe for a short walkabout, during which only a handful of voters managed to break through the media melee to speak to him directly.

In a brief speech, the Liberal Democrat leader urged activists to make one final push and that candidate Peter Carroll could achieve a “sensation” on election night. “There is all to play for...we can win in this constituency.”

Mr Kennedy stopped short of offering an outright endorsement of tactical voting in Folkestone and Hythe and other key marginals. But pressed on what advice he would give to Labour supporters, he told the Kent Messenger Group:

“I think there is a big issue for those 9,000 or so people who voted Labour at the last election. It is perfectly clear they have not got a remote chance of winning in this constituency but clearly the Lib Dems could.”

He went on to say many Liberal Democrat policies appealed to dissenting and wavering Labour supporters.

“Much of our agenda commends itself to people who may have supported Tony Blair in the past but certainly do not support him now. Our opposition to the war on Iraq, tuition fees and our alternative to the council tax, for example. For these and many other issues, a lot of people who may have been willing to support Tony Blair in 1997 and 2001 will be coming to vote for us this time. Of course, it has an added potency in a constituency like this.”

He insisted voters were attracted by the Liberal Democrats’ “positive approach” and had been turned off by the “inward-looking, negative” attitude of Labour and the Conservatives.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, appeared to have decided not to make their presence felt during the visit and stayed away from the hour-long visit.