TORY leadership hopeful David Cameron says he wants to scrap the Government’s house-building programme and allow decisions over the number of homes to be made by local councils.

The frontrunner in the contest to succeed Michael Howard told the Kent Messenger Group the Government’s targets for Kent were "extremely challenging" and he favoured a planning system that would restore decisions on house-building to local authorities. He also promised a cull of unelected regional assemblies.

Mr Cameron, who is due to rally support among activists with a vist to west Kent on Friday, said the Government should not be allowed to impose house-building targets.

He said: "I do want to see a much more ‘bottom-up’ process rather than a top-down one. I think the relevant authorities for house-building targets are the districts and counties rather than faceless regional bodies.

"Obviously, we need to look at the whole planning system and housing targets and how the system works and make it more responsive to authorities that people trust."

Promising to scrap the South East Regional Assembly and other regional bodies, he said: "I do not like being ruled by people who have not been elected and are based in Guildford."

In a sideswipe at rival David Davis, who has promised tax cuts of up to £1,200, he said: "I do not think it is sensible, four years from an election, to publish detailed tax proposals because we need to know the state of the economy we are going to inherit and whether it is growing or shrinking.

"The proposals are strikingly similar to the ones at the last election and they didn’t work then and I don’t think they will persaude people now."

It was imperative the Conservatives developed a "full-bodied economic policy", in which tax was just one element, he added.

"The real battle for us is to show we are the right party to run the economy in a way which creates jobs and investments and revenue for public services and that is a broader battle."

Mr Cameron, 39, is widely regarded as the favourite for the leadership job. Ballot papers have been sent out to 300,000 party activists and the result of the vote will be announced in early December.