Michael Howard has launched the Tories' flagship "right to choose" policy on education, promising to liberate schools from the state.

The centrepiece of the new plans is a pledge to increase the number of school places by the equivalent of 260 new schools.

The Conservative proposals are designed to give parents more choice over where their child goes to school and to hand teachers greater authority to run their own schools.

Also included in the plans are new measures geared at making it easier for good schools to expand and for new schools to open.

There will also be a scheme to make it easier to turn failing schools around.

Launching the proposals, Howard said he wanted to "live in a society where every child is able to make the most of their individual talents".

"Too many parents in Britain today simply have to shut up and take what they are given by the state. I want to give every parent the kind of choice in education that today only people with money can buy," he said.

"Why is it that the views of parents and teachers are ignored?

"The reason is simple: politicians, not parents, run our education system. They decide how schools are run and how money is spent.

"Education is yet another example of Labour's belief that big government knows best. But in education - as in so many other areas - big government simply gets in the way.

"Labour's approach does not merely run against the grain of human nature. It is failing too many children."

The government is set to announce its five year plan for education next week but has already announced an ambition to rapidly increase the number of devolved city academy schools.