Former Tory education Secretary Gillian Sheppard was on a learning curve as she made a whistle-stop tour of the Eastleigh constituency.

Her first port of call was Hamble where the yachting village's community school has clinched a grant of £2,296,552 sports lottery grant.

Headmaster Ian Knights and Ian Beacham, of Hampshire County Education Department, explained the proposals and how work was forging ahead on creating a top-class community sports and health complex.

Later she visited Eastleigh College and a diagnostic treatment and education centre at Fair Oak for children with special needs.

But Mrs Sheppard, who was accompanied by Eastleigh's Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate Conor Burns, said the purpose of yesterday's visit was a political tour. Last night she dined with party activists.

The former Tory stronghold is very much a target seat as the party bids to regain power.

With a general election likely to be only five months away, Mrs Sheppard was quick to dismiss speculation of a Tory slump in the popularity polls.

Describing it as a bit of a hiccup she believed that the party's position had been restored in the latest polls and there was no need for a leadership change.

"We have a very good leader," she said.

And she added: "I think the electorate is now very discerning. The reason that there was such a slump for the government over petrol prices was that people saw clearly that stealth taxes did exist."

She said Tory tax cuts would not lead to savage cuts in public spending.

"We already said that we will match the government spending on health, education and pensions.

"What we have said is that there is all kinds of slack in admin, bureaucracy and in layers of government that this country can do without."