An impoverished Labour Party will be unable to return fire against the Conservatives’ pre-election advertising blitz for months, amid fears that they could emerge from the campaign bankrupt, The Times reports.

David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary and chairman of Labour’s election development board, said the party was going into an election at a greater financial disadvantage than any time since 1983, when they suffered a landslide defeat.

Labour have been forced to scrap a planned manifesto meeting of their National Policy Forum on cost grounds, just before a campaign in which Conservatives are preparing to out-spend it by a factor of about three to one.

Blunkett confirmed last night that the party had a campaign budget of only £8 million. The bulk of this money comes from trade unions and is being held back until the polling date is announced, probably in April.

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