The Conservatives will today present Gordon Brown as the enemy of the countryside, highlighting a string of "malicious" policies and ineffective ministers who have little interest in the needs of the Westcountry.

Speaking exclusively to the Western Morning News, shadow chancellor George Osborne claims people in the countryside "have got used to being treated with disrespect" by a Labour Government which thinks "the countryside is a place for town folk to go for a weekend".

And launching a broadside at the Tories' main opponents in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, Mr Osborne says the region has been "ill-served" by Liberal Democrats unable to influence government policy.

A vote for the Lib Dems amounted to "helping Gordon Brown to stay in office," he warned, adding: "The Westcountry doesn't have to sit this election out."

Labour's city-based Environment Secretary Hilary Benn and Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw, the MP for Exeter, are also criticised.

The Tories must win a dozen seats in the Westcountry on May 6 if they are to secure an overall majority.

In a major interview on the eve of the Tory manifesto launch, Mr Osborne cites the planned 10 per cent plus inflation rise in duty on cider, the scrapping of tax breaks for holiday home owners and the red-tape strangling the region's small businesses as proof Labour has failed the Westcountry. Half a million people in the region could also be better off under Tory plans to halve Labour's planned increase in National Insurance.

The Conservatives will today launch a campaign focusing on the cider tax, featuring an image of Mr Brown holding a pint of scrumpy, with the slogan: "Whose Cider You On?".

Labour was forced to back down on the cider duty increase, which will now disappear on June 30. Mr Osborne makes clear only a Conservative Government would ensure the hike was not reinstated after the election.

"It was really a slap in the face to rural people but I'm afraid after 13 years of this Government, people in the countryside have got used to being treated with disrespect by this Government," he said.

"Labour just doesn't understand rural issues, doesn't understand the Westcountry."

Mr Osborne also brushes aside claims he has failed to connect with voters, insisting his job as shadow chancellor is to tell the public "home truths" about the state of the economy. He said he wanted to be known for focusing on sound economics rather than being liked.

As the head of the party's campaign, Mr Osborne has been credited with a series of policies which have restored the Tories' 10-point lead in the polls over Labour, who will launch their manifesto today.

One of Labour's most high profile policies in the Westcountry is its staunch commitment to retaining the ban on fox hunting. Other measures expected in the Labour document include a green investment bank to lend to the environmental firms of the future, a promise that people who can work are never better off on benefits and a series of health guarantees which include waiting no more than 18 weeks for an operation, a four-hour limit on A&E waits and a two-week cancer referral guarantee.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who drew up the manifesto, said it is "shaped by challenging times, constrained by financial pressures, not promising the earth, but, fundamentally we are optimistic about Britain and what we can achieve".

Tomorrow, the Conservatives will officially launch their election manifesto.

It is expected to include guaranteed access to a local GP 12 hours a day, seven days a week amid concerns over out-of-hours services. Some 400,000 extra training places would be created to get people back into work while a 'people's bank bonus' would give taxpayers a chance to own shares in the banks they bailed out.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, who is fronting his party's campaign in the Westcountry, admitted the Tories have "done well in their first week".

But he accused them of "abandoning their core message and I think they will pay a price for that".