Labour and the Tories were kicking off a month-long campaign for June's local elections today.

Labour was using the 25th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher becoming Prime Minister to warn voters not to let the Tories "wreck it again".

The Conservatives were setting out plans to free local councils from Whitehall red tape.

Tony Blair, Chancellor Gordon Brown and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott were launching Labour's campaign in Leeds with a slogan borrowed from Baroness Thatcher's time in power.

Labour has produced a poster showing her head alongside that of Tory leader Michael Howard, John Major, William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith under the slogan "Britain is working. Don't let the Tories wreck it again".

Labour strategists believe that they can win votes by reminding people of Mr Howard's record of close support for his four predecessors as well as his time in the Thatcher and Major governments.

The poster's wording appears to be a reference to the slogan dreamt up for Lady Thatcher by her advertising guru Tim Bell when she was seeking her third election victory in 1987 - "Britain is Great Again. Don't Let Labour Wreck It".

There is also a clear echo of the famous poster from the 1979 election, which claimed "Labour Isn't Working".

Labour chairman Ian McCartney said Baroness Thatcher had pledged to bring harmony and hope to Britain but the reality was mass unemployment and two deep and damaging recessions.

"Michael Howard may be nostalgic for this time, when he was Employment Secretary and unemployment rose by one million, but for the British people it is a reminder of a failed Tory past for which hard-working families had to pay the price," he said.

Record

Meanwhile Mr Howard was pointing to the Tories' record in local government.

Speaking ahead of the launch in Birmingham, Tory local government spokeswoman Caroline Spelman said: "Conservatives believe in providing value for money for local taxpayers. Conservative councils charge an estimated '53 per year less in Band D council tax bills than Labour and Liberal Democrat councils in England. We have shown that you get better services and lower taxes from Conservatives councils.

"We need to free local councils from unnecessary bureaucracy and costly demands imposed by central government, whilst at the same time reinforcing local accountability so that councils are held to account primarily through their electorate."

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy was taking his party's campaign message to Newcastle. He will launch the Lib Dem campaign officially next week.