FORMER Home Secretary Michael Howard addressed Conservative activists from across the North-East at a meeting in Prime Minister Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency.
Mr Howard told activists that Tony Blair had failed to deliver despite his promises to be tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime.
Douglas Carswell, the party's prospective parliamentary candidate for Sedgefield, said he was delighted by the attendance.
A total of 65 people from across the region attended the St George Hotel at Teesside Airport, on Saturday evening, to meet Mr Howard.
Mr Carswell, who will celebrate his 30th birthday on the same day as the General Election if it goes ahead on May 3, is relishing the challenge of standing against the Prime Minister.
He said: "I'm pretty optimistic. I'm not full of bravado, I'm realistic, but the election that we saw in Florida shows that every vote counts and at the moment the score is nil-all, so it's a matter of people putting crosses on ballot papers.
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