David Cameron will today set out six key themes that will be at the heart of the Tory general election manifesto – with immigration and health missing from the list.

The party will focus heavily in the campaign on dealing with the economic deficit, creating jobs, lowering taxes, improving education, tackling housing shortages and helping the retired.

But other parties are likely to exploit the omission of health and immigration – as well as the issue of Europe – as the pre-election skirmishes intensify.

A Tory spokesman insisted that the subjects would be fully debated in the coming months – and added that the strength of the National Health Service was linked to the state of the economy.

The Prime Minister will say: “To every mother, father, grandparent, uncle, aunt – I would ask this question. When you look at the children you love, do you want to land them with a legacy of huge debts?”

He will add: “The security of your family depends on the stability of our public finances.”

Mr Cameron will claim that an alternative strategy of more borrowing and spending would trigger “economic chaos”, cost jobs, harm businesses and hit homeowners.

“This isn’t just about the straightforward economic arguments. It is about the values of this country, whether we as a nation are going to pass on a mountain of debt to the next generations that they could never hope to re-pay,” he will say.

“To every mother, father, grandparent, uncle, aunt – I would ask this question. When you look at the children you love, do you want to land them with a legacy of huge debts?

“Do you want to limit their future, to make life more difficult for their generation, because we refuse to do the right thing in our generation? I say we have a responsibility to act.”