CULTURE Secretary Ben Bradshaw is to be targeted in a Conservative "decapitation" strategy at the next election, designed to unseat some of Labour's big beasts in Parliament.

The Tories hope to use commanding leads in opinion polls to oust senior members of the Government on election night.

They have Mr Bradshaw firmly in their sights, hoping to overturn the projected majority of 8,500 in his Exeter seat.

But last night Mr Bradshaw accused the Tories of taking victory for granted, and signalled he will use his low level of expense claims to hammer opposition parties.

He told the Western Morning News: "I will be fighting hard on my record."

Senior Conservatives believe they could recreate the scenes seen in 1997, when Michael Portillo's 15,500 majority was among those swept away by Labour's first landslide election victory.

Other Cabinet figures being targeted include Chancellor Alistair Darling, Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy, Justice Secretary Jack Straw and Communities Secretary John Denham.

The Tories believe the threat of losing their seat could force senior figures who would otherwise be deployed in the national campaign – including telegenic Mr Bradshaw – to spend more time secure their local vote.

A senior shadow cabinet member said: "We are after some big scalps. Some of the more comfortable MPs, including Cabinet ministers, are starting to see more political activity. Those efforts will be stepped up.

"We not going to move ahead of ourselves but a number of senior ministers could go if the swing to us moves into double digits. Some Cabinet ministers should not feel safe.

"If we maintain a 12-point lead certain ministers, who would otherwise be taking a high profile role in Labour's campaign, will be penned into their constituencies much more than they would prefer to be."

However, last night Mr Bradshaw sought to play down the threat posed by such a strategy.

"The Conservatives seem to assume they have already won the election," he said. "Instead of taking the public for granted in this way they need to explain how their policies would hit Exeter in terms of lost jobs, cuts in health, schools and police, and fewer affordable homes.

"I will be fighting hard on my record, what has been achieved in Exeter over the past 12 years and as an MP whose expenses have always been significantly lower than all the Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs in the Westcountry."

Mr Bradshaw's seat has been seen as vulnerable on polling day because it is one of the few Labour strongholds in the Westcountry.

He is the most high profile minister in the wider South West region, and as a former regional minister has become seen as a significant cheerleader for the Labour Government.

However, Government sources have insisted the Tories should not underestimate Mr Bradshaw's staying power, with many non-Labour voters praising his work as a local MP.

In an interview with the WMN this month, he insisted: "My constituency has always been my priority and as a minister, I have spent exactly as much time in Exeter as I did before. I have always made clear in all of my ministerial jobs that Exeter comes first and the department has to fit itself round what I do here."