PRIME Minister Tony Blair chose Kent to go on the political offensive yesterday in the clearest sign yet that a general election is just months away.

The Prime Minister spent the day in the county and chose the heart of the redeveloped St Mary's Island in Chatham to set out a series of pledges in a carefully-staged key-note speech in the local community centre.

He made a strong defence of the Government's economic record and claimed Labour was now the only party to be trusted on the issue.

At the heart of his speech, addressed to an audience of party activists and attended by several Kent Labour MPs, was a commitment to produce "personal prosperity for all" in a Labour third term.

"Everything we do must be for one central purpose: increased personal prosperity and well-being for all. We need to show how we will continue to make individuals and their families better off in living standards and in the quality of life," he said.

Improving public services was vital to that prosperity, he added.

And in an exclusive interview with the Medway Messenger, he insisted the Government would come up with the cash needed to pay for more schools, roads and hospitals as plans for a huge expansion of house-building in north Kent got underway.

He said he would make a personal guarantee to ensure the money was found.

"We need to work closely with the councils to make sure their concerns are being addressed but there will be a massive investment in health and education," he said.

He also played down concerns about the impact of the Government's plans for 24-hour licensing on anti-social behaviour and binge drinking.

His comments follow concerns expressed by Kent Police chief Mike Fuller about the reforms and the possible additional costs.

"There should not need to be more resources. Let us be absolutely clear. Drink is not a problem with every single bar or club in the country, or with every restaurant. It is a problem for a tiny minority."

A small group of Conservative party activists sought to disrupt Mr Blair's visit when they staged a protest outside the community hall onn St Mary's Island. Dressed in Gordon Brown masks, they waved placards with a quote allegedly made by the Chancellor about Mr Blair.

* READ our exclusive interview with the Prime Minister in Monday's Medway Messenger and find out how he fared when he was grilled by a group of our readers on some of the big political issues of the day.