THE BATTLE to win the marginal seat of New Forest East got underway in earnest when Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Dash helped launch a campaign to scrap council tax.

Mr Dash, who is also Liberal Democrat deputy leader on Hampshire County Council, was joined by the Lib Dems ODPM spokesman Ed Davey at Hythe Promenade where they urged voters to sign-up to a petition to scrap the controversial tax.

Mr Dash, who is trying to unseat sitting Tory MP Julian Lewis' majority of 3,829 said: "The council tax is a key issue on the doorsteps of the New Forest.

"I am delighted that Ed Davey is coming to Hythe to launch our petition against this unfair tax."

Mr Davey told the Daily Echo: "Council tax is Britain's most unfair tax because it hits people on low, modest and average incomes very hard, particularly pensioners.

"We think that unfairness is wrong and Britain's tax system is one of the most unfair in the western world."

He acknowledged that New Forest East was one of the Liberal Democrat's key battleground seats in Hampshire and urged Labour supporters to switch their votes and back Mr Dash.

He said: "It is going to be a very close race between Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.

"Labour have already given up the race and increasingly we are seeing Labour supporters backing us."

He claimed that an average household in Hampshire would be £450 a year better off if the council tax was scrapped.

He said: "The average household income is just over £23,000. Average wages in this neck of the woods are lower than that.

"Eight out of ten pensioners will be better off."

He added that the Liberal Democrats would also increase taxes for people earning over £100,000 a year which would raise an extra 9p in the £1 and would help pay for scrapping student tuition fees.

He said: "Government figures show our policy would raise slightly over £5 billion a year."