'We've got to stick to the plan!' That was the message from Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit to Suffolk to launch his party's pledge to move towards full employment.

And he said this region has a crucial role to play in providing prosperity for the rest of the country.

Mr Cameron launched his party's employment message at the Ipswich factory of Ransomes Jacobsen on the edge of the town.

He said: 'I am here today because Norfolk and Suffolk, and East Anglia as a whole, are a vital part of our economy and it's a very successful part of our economy.

'When you think that almost a quarter of million jobs have been created over the last four and a half years and Ben (Gummer) and Peter (Aldous) play an absolutely crucial role in promoting that economic plan.

'I think Ben has stood up very effectively for Ipswich. I can't think of any other Ipswich MP who has managed to get the whole of the cabinet to come here and he has stood up for local people.'

Mr Cameron said a new Conservative government would be committed to trying to ensure full employment – and said that over the last four and a half years hundreds of thousands of jobs had been created.

He said nine out of ten of these jobs were full-time, and two-thirds were skilled jobs with good wages.

But he accepted not everyone had yet seen the benefits of the recovery: 'When you are recovering from the longest and deepest recession since the war it does take time for that recovery to be felt by people.

'But the truth is that in the Eastern Region 224,000 more people are in work and also people in work have seen their taxes cut because we've lifted the amount you can earn before you start paying tax to over £10,000 and also we are now starting to see the growth in the number of jobs and the reduction of taxes and very low inflation with the news that British Gas is cutting its prices by 5% at the same time as petrol and diesel prices are heading towards £1 a litre.

'I am not saying we have solved all the problems, but we are addressing them and the key thing is that people who have gone from unemployment to work are seeing their living standards rise and those who have been in work for a year there is growing evidence that small pay rises are coming through.

'So, look, we've got to stick to the plan, stick to the programme. These things are hard-fought but they are easy to wreck.'