A new Conservative unit has been established to boost campaigning in the party's 164 target seats.

Announcing the move on Sunday, party chairman Liam Fox said he was preparing to "take the fight to Labour" at the next election.

The Target Seats Unit will provide advice on the latest campaigning techniques, information on opponents and high-quality literature to support local campaigns.

The seats on the target list are not being disclosed, but a statement said they had been decided on grounds of marginality and local circumstances.

In addition to the 164 key seats in England and Wales, the Scottish Conservatives are drawing up a separate list.

With boundary changes expected north of the border before the next election, leaving 13 fewer Scottish seats, winning every target seat would produce a Tory majority of one.

The party said that while it was paying "special attention" to the targets, other organsiational changes would boost its campaigning across the rest of the parliamentary constituencies.

Among these is a new national network of regional press officers, which aims to strengthen the focus on local and regional news media and raise the profile of Conservative candidates.

And a Conservative Campaigning Board, chaired by Lord Moynihan, will advise the staff of the Target Seats Unit and ensure that each of the priority seats has the resources, professional support and technology to run a "first-class campaign".

"These developments will ensure that the party is ready to take the fight to Labour when the next election comes. We will be increasing the pressure at every level," pledged Fox.

"People are rightly disillusioned with Tony Blair and a Labour government that promised them so much but has simply let them down.  We will offer them a better way."