SUPPORT for the Tories is soaring says the president of Tatton Conservatives who believes his party has entered 2008 in its most positive position in nearly 30 years.

Macclesfield Borough Councillor Paul Whiteley says the political mood has turned and feeling among party members is on a par with when Margaret Thatcher rose to power in 1979.

He said the party’s improved position in the polls is partly due to the popularity of leader David Cameron who has proved to be more of a threat to Labour than his predecessors.

But he says that a series of blunders by the Government has also encouraged voters to transfer their allegiance to the Conservative opposition.

"After the Winter of Discontent, I remember the country needing the Conservative Party to get the system working and to get back to some normality," he said.

"This seems to be a very similar time. It’s that long ago that we had this kind of sea change."

The Labour Government’s inability to control strike action by key workers between 1978 and 1979 led to Mrs Thatcher’s victory in the 1979 General Election.

Coun Whiteley believes the Conservative Party now faces a similar boost in popularity.

But he does not believe the Prime Minister will call a General Election next year.

He said Labour could have won if they called for a vote in the autumn. But he believes Brown’s indecision has changed all that.

"The Government has not just fallen on hard times," he said. "Their troubles are of their own making."

Shadow Chancellor and Tatton MP George Osborne agreed with Coun Whiteley saying that 2007 was a remarkable year for the Conservative Party and that they had started to believe in themselves again.

He put their success down to "team effort and the superb leadership of David Cameron that made the country sit up and listen to what we had to say".

He said: "Locally the Conservatives have focused on important council elections and through that we have got lots of people from Wilmslow and the surrounding areas joining the party and taking part in our discussions.

"The local parties are reflecting the national mood and we have started the new year in very good shape.

"Our talks and speeches about inheritance tax and welfare reform seem to have changed the party’s fortunes and the message is now resonating with a country that wants change.

"The rising popularity of the Conservative party is also down to David Cameron who is a great leader.

"He has managed to get in touch with the country and we are now reaping the benefit.

"We have changed ourselves so we are now in a position to change the country for the better."

But despite their success Mr Osborne said he doesn’t want anyone thinking the Conservatives are going to rest on their laurels.

He added: "We know we have a long road ahead so we are not getting ahead of ourselves at all.

"At the moment the focus of my work is in the constituency with campaigns to save the post office branches in the area such as those at Fulshaw and Styal.

"It is these local issues which we are concentrating on rather than a General Election which is two years away. "