GENERAL Election campaigning began in earnest in Durham on Tuesday after Tony Blair confirmed May 5 as polling day.

The three main parties fired the first salvos in the month-long war of words as former Durham cobbler Tony Martin announced he is standing for TV presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk's new party, Veritas.

Labour candidate Roberta Blackman-Woods, chairwoman of the constituency Labour Party and the governors of Durham Johnston School, will defend the 2001 majority of 13,441 achieved by Gerry Steinberg, who is retiring.

Her opponents so far are Liberal Democrat Carol Woods, of Sherburn Village, who has contested the seat before and is Durham City Council's cabinet member for finance, and Ben Rogers, a journalist and human rights campaigner, who is the Conservative candidate.

The Liberal Democrats, who won the city council two years ago after a long spell of Labour domination, have made the seat their top North-East target.

But Mrs Blackman, who opened her campaign headquarters in the Market Place, said: "I'm reasonably confident as long as we can get our case across.

"If people listen and judge us on our record, we will win."

She would campaign on what Labour had given the city. "That's a strong and vibrant economy, record investment in schools and hospitals and also a very significant commitment to regeneration, including regeneration of the coalfields communities," she said.

"I also want to remind people of the difficulties they would face going back to the Tory past and the lack of investment in services. This would seriously affect young families, pensioners and people on low income, who have done particularly well under Labour."

Carol Woods, who joined other candidates in launching her party's regional campaign with leader Charles Kennedy in Newcastle, said the Liberal Democrats were a viable alternative to Labour and had done a 'good job' on the city council.

"We have sorted out a lot of problems, made it more open and accountable, sorted out the finances and restructured the council to address some of the issues that weren't being addressed.

"I think there is a huge chance. Losing Durham would make Labour sit up and take notice. The people of Durham won't be taken for granted any longer."

Conservative Ben Rogers said he would campaign against 24-hour pub opening and binge drinking, fight for lower council tax, put human rights and trade justice at the centre of foreign policy, and oppose the European constitution and the Euro. He would also campaign for more police, cleaner hospitals, controlled immigration, school discipline and lower national taxes. "I stand for life, liberty, justice and responsibility," he said.

"I will fight waste and bureaucracy and deliver better value for money. I want our money to be spent on front-line services - doctors, nurses, teachers, bobbies on the beat - not managers and regulators and bureaucracy."

Tony Martin, 41, of North Shields, known for his anti-council campaigning when he ran his cobbling business in Claypath, promised an equally hard hitting campaign. He said: "Veritas means the truth and that's what this party stands for. It is also what I have been saying for the last five years.

"I will stand on my leaflet. If it isn't true then I demand to be taken to court. The stuff I speak about, other politicians will not mention. I am offering an alternative politics for Durham and some fireworks in the campaign."