CONSERVATIVE Party boss Dr Liam Fox came to Basingstoke this week and said he was confident the town will remain a Tory seat at the next general election.

Dr Fox - one of the party's two national chairmen - spoke at a meeting of the Basingstoke business Forum, which is a group established by the town's Conservative MP Andrew Hunter.

He told the meeting of business people and Conservative supporters that Basingstoke was a seat that would be "consolidated" by prospective candidate Maria Miller.

He said: "If all our candidates had her drive, energy and enthusiasm, then we would be romping home across the country."

Dr Fox said the Conservative Party was in better shape since Michael Howard became leader. He added membership was up, money was coming in and people were increasingly disillusioned with Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Conservatives had, he said, to convey that they could deliver better public services.

Dr Fox, speaking on Monday, predicted the Prime Minister would opt for a referendum on the new European constitution - as indeed happened.

He said: "It's time for him to stop playing political games with us."

He added the controversy about the new European constitution meant the June 10 European elections were going to be "a battle for the preservation of the UK itself".

He explained: "For the first time, the European constitution will say European law takes precedence. Well, I did not go to Westminster to see my Parliament turned into a district council."

On crime, Dr Fox said he wanted to see more visible policing. He added: "Tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime is all very well, but what about being tough on criminals?"

When asked about immigration, Dr Fox said there was a need to be more stringent about who was coming to live in the country. He said: "The first thing is that the Government needs to obey its own laws. If it sets down laws, it should follow them."

Before the meeting, Dr Fox told The Gazette he was struck by how similar the problems faced by businesses in Basingstoke were, compared with his own constituency in Somerset.

He said the need to bring in more employees could only be fulfilled by good transport links, while on the other hand, there was no point negating all the benefits of living somewhere pleasantly green by covering fields in development.

Where housing was built, it should be of mixed type so first-timers could get on the housing ladder, he said.