Michael Howard and Tony Blair slugged it out in the Commons at the last session of PMQs yesterday.

The opposition leader said under Labour the situation was one of "taxes up, crime up, immigration up, waiting times up, MRSA up, truancy up", and "take-home pay down, pensions down, productivity growth down, manufacturing employment down, detection rates down".

"After eight years of Labour government we’re locking up teachers, not yobs; our voting system resembles that of a banana republic and pensioners who can't find an NHS dentist are reduced to pulling out their own teeth," added Howard.

The prime minister rejected Howard's claims and hit back, pointing to what he said were the failures of recent Conservative governments, and said the Tories had not changed their policies since losing power.