Tony Blair is to fight the general election on a pledge to cut the time that people wait from seeing their GP to getting hospital treatment from a maximum of 13 months to 18 weeks by 2008.

The guarantee will be announced next Thursday, according to the Times.

Michael Howard is expected to pre-empt Labour's pledge with a declaration that the Conservatives will eventually abolish waiting lists altogether by ensuring that everyone gets immediate hospital treatment.

Next week John Reid, the health secretary, will set out his five-year plan for the NHS.

He will promise that a Labour government will cut premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by at least 40 per cent and reduce cancer-related deaths by at least 20 per cent by 2010.