TWO Hampshire constituencies are on a Conservative list of 40 “must win” seats for the next election – and the fight is already under way.

Labour-held Southampton Itchen and Eastleigh – retained by the Liberal Democrats in a by-election, in February – are on a newly-released target list.

Campaign managers have already been recruited for the general election, still almost two years away, and promised extra freedom to run their operations.

Usually young and energetic, they have been urged to fight local campaigns – even if that involves ignoring messages from Tory central office.

And candidates are in place in all 40 seats except for Eastleigh, where Maria Hutchings fought and lost for the Conservatives earlier this year.

In Southampton Itchen, Royston Smith, the Tory leader on Southampton City Council, has been picked to fight the successor to John Denham, who is standing down.

Mr Smith fought the seat unsuccessfully at the 2010 general election, but whittled down Mr Denham’s majority to just 192 votes.

Speaking to journalists at Westminster, Grant Shapps, the Conservative party chairman, said the days of candidates simply distributing leaflets from head office were over.

He said: “We have already got campaign managers in a very single target seat, so we will have more people on the ground there.

‘Fighting on’ “If you get under the skin of what’s going on in your community then you will make much more headway – and if you are from there it’s even easier.

“It might be the local hospital, or a gravel pit, or a local road that needs speed restrictions.

“Whatever it is, you should fight on things that people are really passionate about.”

The reference to a gravel pit harks to Eastleigh, when protests about plans to dig up a pit in Hamble played a key part in the campaign.

But Mr Denham insisted the Conservatives had a lot to do before they would be “taken seriously” in Southampton Itchen.

He said: “The Tories have left most Southampton families worse off, there’s an A&E crisis at hospital and the Tories chose to cut spending on Southampton services much more than in the rest of Hampshire.”

Of the 40 targeted seats, 21 are currently Lib Dem-held (such as Eastleigh) and the remaining 19 have Labour MPs (including Southampton Itchen).

The Tories are devising a “love-bombing plus” strategy to woo Lib Dem voters, pointing to “liberal” policies the coalition brought in, such as gay marriage.

Under a “40/40” strategy, Conservative Central Office will throw the kitchen sink at 40 seats it believes to be winnable – and 40 it is desperate to defend.

If successful, such a campaign would be enough to put David Cameron back in Downing Street with a small majority, without the need for a coalition.