It’s not a shoo-in for us yet, says Hague

William Hague, who is now the shadow foreign secretary, said he was encouraged by the reception and responses from shoppers after walking through the city centre yesterday afternoon.

Mr Hague also talked to your Worcester News about his party’s manifesto, its plans for the economy and the potential for all three leaders of the main parties to “connect with people” during the live election debates – the first of which was broadcast last night.

Mr Hague, who was supporting his party’s candidate for Worcester, Robin Walker, said having visited the city numerous times – the last in the run-up to the European elections last June – he could feel a change in the political wind.

“I think people know Robin here and would like another Walker for Worcester,” he said, referring to his father Lord Peter Walker who was the city’s MP for 31 years.

“As the last man I just spoke to said, ‘You can’t be any worse than Labour’.

“I have been to Worcester many times and I can tell that this is the best we have seen it.

“It’s not a shoo-in, no votes have been cast yet and we take nothing for granted whatsoever, but I think we are optimistic about the way it is going in Worcester.”

Mr Hague said while the Conservatives have “no plans” to raise VAT he could not rule it out before adding neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats could either.

Mr Hague said the Conservatives, if they gain power, will make “some cuts sooner, but they are cuts in waste”. The savings from that, he said, would go towards reducing the country’s £167 billion deficit.

He said: “Even the Government say there’s a huge amount of waste and it can’t be right and can’t help the economy to take money out of the pockets of working people to give to Government to waste it.”

In relation to his party’s manifesto, Mr Hague said people were not being asked to give more time or energy to politics but give them a greater say on what is going on in their area.

“I think there is a real appetite for that,” he said.