Labour chairman Ian McCartney

The Labour Party has launched its local election campaign with a warning about Conservative spending plans.

Ian McCartney told an audience in Birmingham on Monday that the Tories were planning to make "20 per cent cuts across the board" in public services.

The new party chairman was speaking alongside deputy leader John Prescott and Cabinet ministers Alan Milburn and Hilary Armstrong.

They all joined him in promoting Labour's public spending record and contrasting that with the cuts they claim Conservative candidates want to introduce.

Prescott said that the Budget had backed up plans to continue investment in schools and hospitals.

"This Labour government stands proud on its record on delivering more teachers, more nurses and more police," he said.

"Gordon Brown's Budget last week means that we can build on those achievements with even more teachers, more nurses and more police in the future."

But the deputy prime minister denied that his department's local government funding settlement was responsible for double figure council tax rises in many authorities.

"Since 1997, funding for local government has been increased by 25 per cent in real terms," he said.

"This year, for the first time ever, every authority in the country received an above inflation settlement to help councils deliver high quality services."

Sticking to the script, Prescott reiterated McCartney's warning over the Conservative's aspirations.

"All these achievements are under threat from the Tories," he claimed.

"Iain Duncan Smith has confirmed their plans for 20 per cent cut 'across the board' in public spending. This means the equivalent of cutting one in five nurses, teachers and police officers."

The two other themes developed at the party's manifesto launch were the investment going into the health service and the government's crackdown on anti-social behaviour.

Milburn hailed the progress that his department was making both locally and nationally.

"Labour's programme is delivering for patients, here in the West Midlands and across the country as a whole," the health secretary said.

And Armstrong declared that in partnership with councils, the government was giving street crime the priority voters placed on it.

"For many people, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour is their number one priority in these elections," the North East MP said.

"Labour has strengthened the powers of local government to help deal with these problems."

"Across the country, here in Birmingham and elsewhere, it is Labour councils that are pioneering new ways to tackle anti-social behaviour."

McCartney denied that this year's local elections would be seen as a referendum on the government's stance over Iraq.

"Up and down the country the prime minister and his actions are getting strong support across the UK," he said.

"There has been great support in the parliamentary party and there is no way MPs want to go back to the 1980s."