IN A direct appeal to voters in Southampton, Prime Minister David Cameron has called on city residents to “stick with the plan that’s working” and back the Conservatives on May 7.

In a letter to residents, published in today’s Daily Echo, Mr Cameron says his party has created two million jobs since the Government took control in 2010.

He says his party has protected the NHS and also provided funding to get major projects in Southampton, such as the leisure complex at WestQuay Watermark, off the ground.

In his letter, Mr Cameron states: “It is 13 days until the people of Southampton go to the polls. The choice couldn’t be more clear: between a Conservative plan that is turning our country around, and going back to Labour’s borrowing, spending, taxes and debt.

“Since we took office, we’ve taken Britain from a great recession to a great recovery – last year becoming the fastest-growing major advanced economy in the world.

“Voters in Southampton may think ‘what’s that got to do with me?’. The answer is simple: only with a strong economy can we make life better for you. Creating two million jobs, delivering two million apprenticeships, cutting the typical taxpayer’s income taxes by £825, increasing the state pension by £950, and protecting our NHS – all the things we’ve done have only been possible because we’ve got a grip on our economy.

“Large-scale investment here – like the Southampton and Portsmouth City Deal, and the £7m WestQuay Watermark investment – couldn’t have happened without our long-term economic plan. But the job is not done. We want to give you security at every stage of your life – with a good school place for your child, a good home, a good job, and a good retirement. And with a strong economy, we can.

“But it’s all at risk from Labour, who just five short years ago had brought Britain to its knees. What’s even worse is the prospect of them being propped up by the SNP, every day depending on a party that doesn’t care about Southampton – and doesn’t even want there to be a United Kingdom.

“That’s what makes this the most important election in a generation. So my message is this: stick with the plan that’s working; stick with the team that will bring brighter days to Southampton. Let’s not go back to square one with Labour – with the Conservatives, let’s finish what we’ve begun.”

But other parties have attacked the Conservatives’ record.

Labour’s Alan Whitehead, facing the Tories’ Jeremy Moulton in the battle for the Southampton Test seat, said the Prime Minister was “out of touch with the realities of Southampton”.

He said: “It is not only breathtaking that he wants to take credit for investments in the city that are down to the hard work of the council, but he is clearly unaware that the great recovery he is talking about hasn’t reached the kitchen tables of people in Southampton.”

Liberal Democrat candidate for Test Adrian Ford said his party had “stopped the Conservatives from privatising the NHS, put a brake on excessive cutting of benefits, introduced the triple lock for pensioners to ensure that pensions rise by a minimum of 2.5 per cent per annum and created two million apprenticeships”.

UKIP’s Pearline Hingston said: “We cannot trust the Conservative Government, because they have still not said they will give us a free and fair referendum on membership of the EU.”

Green Party hopeful Angela Mawle said Mr Cameron was “grandstanding at Southampton’s expense”.

Other candidates standing in Southampton Test include independent Chris Davis and Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition’s Nick Chaffey.