Scuffle signals start of struggle for North

The stage was set for a bitter general election in the North yesterday, with police called on to intervene in a scuffle during Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy's campaign launch in Newcastle.

Mr Kennedy accused the Labour group leader on Newcastle Council of an "assault" on one of his candidates at yesterday's event.

He later claimed it showed Labour was "rattled" as he made bold predictions of Liberal Democrat gains in the region.

But Labour and the Tories both tried to sideline the party in the region, insisting the election is a two-way fight for Downing Street.

A group of Labour councillors, including their leader John O'Shea, harangued Mr Kennedy over his party's decision to put up care charges in the city as he unveiled their election campaign.

But after Durham City Lib Dem candidate Carol Woods was hit on the head by a placard, Mr Kennedy turned to Mr O'Shea and said: "Can we get a policeman to deal with this gentleman, please? You just carried out an assault there, sir."

Coun O'Shea was spoken to by a police officer, who later said he had "given him a friendly piece of advice."

Mr Kennedy said: "I think the politics of the North-East is very clear cut. You've had a Labour establishment for too many decades taking people for granted and people are increasingly, in Durham, Newcastle and elsewhere, turning to the Liberal Democrats.

"I think as we've seen by the behaviour of Labour councillors and others in the streets today these people are severely rattled and they deserve to be as well."

But Coun O'Shea said it was a "minor issue" which happened after he "grappled" with a Lib Dem activist over the placard.

Labour's Housing Minister Keith Hill said the biggest threat were the Conservatives, when he visited a new housing development in Blaydon, another Liberal Democrat target.

He said: " What we know is that the Tories are already committed to £35bn worth of cuts and have a secret agenda of even more cuts."

Conservative Party families spokeswoman Theresa May, in a visit to Newcastle, said: Our message appeals to all the hard working families across the North-East who feel they've been let down by Mr Blair. I think it will make headway here."

The Journal: Today's Voice of the North

Page 3: Defection hits Labour