Charles Kennedy and John Prescott have launched separate appeals for the support of electors using postal votes at the forthcoming elections.

Ballot papers for the local, European and London elections will land on the doorsteps of around 14 million people across the UK on Wednesday.

And ahead of that event, both Labour and the Liberal Democrats were stepping up their election campaigning.

The Lib Dem leader urged voters to send a clear message to Tony Blair about unpopularity of the war in Iraq.

And the deputy prime minister warned voters that failing to support Labour could allow the Conservatives to gain.

Prescott, who was joined at a press conference by the actors Patrick Stewart and Ross Kemp, said there was "a galaxy of difference between us and the Conservatives".

"Since 1997, more people have been helped into work than ever before. Record investment is going into schools and hospitals. Crime is falling, and all over the country areas, wrecked by the Tories, have been transformed," he said.

"Today with a Labour government we have the lowest inflation for 20 years, the lowest unemployment for 29 years, the lowest mortgage rates for 40 years and the longest period of economic growth for 200 years. Britain is working."

And Stewart, best known for his performances in "Star Trek: The next generation", said that he was proud to be a Labour supporter.

"As an actor who inhabits the fantasy world of the movies, I am often asked why I am Labour," he said.

"No matter how many times the question is put to me, it always takes me by surprise.

"I could not imagine being anything else. I am proud of the beliefs we carry as Labour supporters, and proud to play a part in getting Labour elected."

Iraq judgement

As the Lib Dem campaign push continued in London, Charles Kennedy emphasised his party's twin themes of opposing the war in Iraq and pledging to scrap the council tax.

"Only voting for the Liberal Democrats will send the clearest message to Tony Blair that people want to see a change in his relationship with George W Bush - and a new determination to base taxes for local services on ability to pay," he said.

Kennedy said that feedback on the doorsteps suggested the public was "tiring of Labour".

"So the European elections are the most appropriate forum in which to cast judgement on the actions of the government in Iraq and hold Mr Blair to account for his part in the pre-emptive war in Iraq."

He added that the local elections would also allow voters to express their opposition to the council tax.

"The Liberal Democrats are firmly against the council tax," he said.

"We want fair local taxation based on people's ability to pay.  We want a system where poor pensioners and families pay less.  We want to axe the unfair council tax.

"Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to get rid of the council tax."