MICHAEL Howard has vowed he would be a prime minister prepared to "roll up his sleeves and get the job done".

In a highly-personalised speech to party activists in Ashford on Saturday, the Conservative leader said that at the age of 63, he could retire and spend more time with his grandchildren.

But he wanted to make the country a better place to live and to make peoples’ lives easier.

He said: "I have a wonderful family. I’ve had a fascinating and rewarding career. But most of all, I’m lucky because I can call this country home."

He added that Britain was a country of "beauty and wit, common sense and splendour, quirky individualism and instinctive togetherness in the face of a challenge".

The Conservatives now had the chance to "serve again in government, to apply all our will and energy to the noble task of making this country a better place to live for everyone".

He went on to trail an eight-point action plan he would implement on the first day of a Conservative government. The plan would cover a range of key policy issues, such as crime, immigration and school discipline.

"I’m not going to hang around. I will be a Prime Minister who rolls up his sleeves and gets things done."

Mr Howard appeared to be moving his campaign away from the personal attacks on Mr Blair’s integrity but accused Labour of using its huge 167-seat majority to break key promises it had made when in opposition before 1997.

Later on, Mr Howard spent time in his constituency, canvassing for votes and taking a walk down Folkestone High Street.