"Is there any policy that would most help you in your fight to win your seat that hasn't yet been introduced?"

We asked the above question to 225 Conservative adopted candidates.  124 have replied to the survey in total and about fifty answered this particular question with direct answers.  We publish their verbatim answers below - categorised by us.  Other results of our survey are being gradually published here.  The graphic on the right puts the answers below in context.  123 candidates (one skipped the question) identified crime, cost of living and the national tax burden as the most important three issues that will decide their bids to become an MP.

Taxation and cost of living
> Tax system to support families with young children, married OR NOT.
> I would like to see us commit to prioritising raising the personal tax allowance when the budget allows for tax cuts - I think this could be our equivalent of council tax sales as it would be of most benefit to the C1/C2 classes who I believe determine elections - our aspiration should be that noone should pay income tax until they earn a living wage.
> Any easy to understand policies which could alleviate the burden of ever rising costs of living.   
> Scrapping tax credits and substantially lifting the basic allowance.
> Big increase in personal allowances.
> Raising the tax threshold year on year to get poorer people out of income tax.
> Clear commitment to reducing the tax burden.
> Bigger personal alllowances that will help the poor, cut fuel duty, cut business taxes.
> Council tax discounts for specified roles in a community that help to build a responsible society.
> Scrap car licences and TV licences.
> A clear commitment to reduce the burden of taxation.
> Taxation of cars to be more responsive to registration address postcodes. A blunt environmental tax on fuel or 4x4s will be deeply unpopular in my rural constituency where appropriate vehicles are needed to avoid crippling isolation. Must be some way of not depressing rural dwellers more. Most of us are not rich county set, ok!
> Something on council tax/local taxation. 
> A promise to cut taxes.
> Clear commitment to lower taxes when the public finances allow.

Law and order

> Build more prisons and keep criminals in them.
> Anything which helps with the problem of yob culture amongst our young people, and gives us more police, with more power. Also any policy which reverses the ridiculous rules on political correctness which seem to dominate all areas of life in Britain today.
> Getting more police hours on the street - sort of announced, but some kind of figure about hours on the street (30% more hours on the street by 3 years for instance). Tougher prison sentences for serious and violent crimes, no early release with more prisons.
> A firm policy on how to tackle the ever increasing drug problem.
> Introduce 6 month boot camps for youngsters who commit a second ASB offence; widely available and utilised abstinence based drug rehabilitation.
> Discretion returned to officers involved in community policing. In rural towns, it is still just about possible for police to have a relationship with the community they serve. Tick box procedures are wrecking that.
> Mandatory jail sentences for carrying knives/guns/drugs.
> Revoking the Human rights charter that was introduced by New Labour.

Pensions and care for the elderly
> More for the elderly.
> Stringent sentencing rules on carrying knives with a mandatory sentence of 5 years imprisonment. Plus a life sentence for anyone using a knife in a fight.
> A greater commitment on the funding of long term residential care for the elderly / housebound.
> A pensions policy.
> Review of Pension Policy.
> A commitment to better social care for the elderly.
> Transform care for the elderly.
> Personal care for the elderly to be funded.
> Long term care provision.
> Development of the plan to fund care home fees after two years. Also, recognition that, as people live longer, they will be on fixed income for much longer; no inadvertent tax punishments.

Immigration and borders
> A commitment to defend our coastline.
> Tougher on immigration.
> Clear statement of Immigration regulations.
> Crystal clear policy on immigration.
> A clear statement of the maximum population that the UK can sensibly support (ie around 60m) and limits to immigration to ensure that we keep within that.

Planning
> Planning restrictions on overdevelopment in green belt.
> Responsibility for planning (particularly house building and developments) to be brought to local authority level with a real appeal system.
> Radical change of the planning system.
> Policies to limit to expansion of Houses in Multiple Occupation in Urban Areas. Planning Authorities must be able to get to grips with this problem that is damaging cohesion and increasing flight from Urban Areas.

Regional/ Scottish/ Welsh issues
> There are 14 marginal seats in my area. We need a proper 'Manifesto' for Yorkshire - that's well thought out and integrates local with national issues.
> Conservatives need to slay the myth of Margaret Thatcher in Scotland and show that we are the only ones relevant to the whole UK
> Yes - to persuade the Party to stop talking about further powers for the Welsh Assembly. it is divisive, expensive and doesnt even feature on the wish list of the Welsh electorate. It gives oxygen to Plaid Cymru.
>  Clear commitment for EVEL (not a seperate English Parliament with another layer of politicians).

Transport
> A robust commitment to improving the transport system.
> Investment in roads to improve local infrastructures for areas of economic regeneration.
> A commitment to restart a national programme to build road by-passes.
> Investment in key bypasses for rural towns.

Education, skills
> A radical innovation in higher/further education policy to introduce the concept of a tertiary education voucher that can be used at any point in a person's working life.
> Abolishing student tuition fees.
> Greater opportunities for apprenticeships and real job training.

Europe
> More clarity on our policy on Europe.
> A post ratification referendum on Lisbon.
> Clear commitment to hold a referendum on the EU Treaty even if it has been ratified (no Parliament may bind another - we can revisit treaties).

Rural/ urban relations
> Rebalancing of the urban-rural funding formulas across health, education, public transport, roads.
> Ensuring that ALL policies take account of the challenges in less heavily populated rural areas.
> Changing the local government subsidy system so that i is not rigged against wealthy and rural areas.

General economy
> Massive deregulation for small businesses.
> Get rid of most of the useless business support bureaucracy and have proper strategic regeneration.

Healthcare
> Some guarantees on the health service.
> More NHS dentists.

Housing
> A commitment to build more council homes would probably be popular.
> Removal of stamp duty.

Welfare reform
> Ensure that working for a living is more economically worthwhile than living off state handouts.
> Tapering of benefits for the unemployed who take up work. There is too much "I can't afford to get a job."

Comments

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

So immigration beats the NHS, Education and Taxation/Economy? Who are these people???

[Graham Doll]

1.2 million people have just signed a petition against polyclinics replacing local GPs. Given that this is in line with Conservative policy, perhaps more could be made of this.

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

Re-introducing and supporting existing Grammar schools?

[Tony Makara]

VOTE WINNERS THAT SHOULD BE FASTTRACKED INTO THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY MANIFESTO.

Mandatory jail sentences for carrying knives/guns/drugs

Abolishing student tuition fees.

More NHS dentists.

Scrap car licences and TV licences.

Raising the tax threshold year on year to get poorer people out of income tax.

[Old Hack]

This a steer but nothing more. Candidates are not always the most objective observers of the views of local people.

The hardest job for a candidate to achieve is to live in the real world, which is often glimpsed only in hindsight, as Tamsin Dunwoody has found out.

[David]

How about stopping the pretence that we still run our own country, and putting in plans to resume self-government?

[Cleethorpes Rock]

Out of the top 11 issues raised, the EU doesn't get a mention. Will people finally realise that this issue ranks so low down most peoples' list of priorities that we won't win an election by campaigning on it.

However, I bet there are still Tory candidates who give undue column inches to the EU issue in their campaign literature. STOP IT!

[Tony Makara]

Code of standards for mainstream media. Watching television these days is like sitting in front of an open sewer.

[bluepatriot]

Interesting that planning and care of the elderly feature in the policy suggestions so prominently.

[Vince]

I agree with bluepatriot: the care for the elderly comes up prominently.

[Alan S]

May I suggest that this poll is carried out regularly? Feedback from our candidates on the frontline is very interesting.

[DOS]

It's interesting, I think, how, given long enough (eleven years so far) the Labour government has, to judge from these responses, really brought about its own demise, for many of the problems mentioned are the direct result of government policies. Perhaps, after all, it really was impossible for us to win the earlier elections, so we shouldn't worry about those defeats too much, and patience was really all that was required. I mean, at the previous elections, we were casting about to try to find policies which would resonate with the public, but without much success; now the public are clamouring for certain policies, a lot of which turn out to be things we would have liked to have done all along anyway. This makes one wonder if David Cameron just happens to be the lucky man in the right place at the right time, and all previous leaders might as well have not bothered doing anything. But in fact I think DC's contribution is more substantial than that. Much as I supported David Davis in the leadership election, I don't think he would have caught the public's attention or affection to the same extent as DC has, however much the Labour government disintegrated. However that may be debated, the message from these returns is very clear: the public is now crying out for distinctively Conservative policies on all the national problems mentioned, and the general election appears to be an open goal.

[Nick]

Make stamp duty marginal. Local income tax, pay twice for 2 houses. Sort out the mess that is now the lords. Unelected PM's have to call a general election within 12 months. A quick amendment to the London Mayor that they can't stand more than twice, else Ken will be back, as a candidate at least. Make Fridays English days in the Commons, scots, welsh & NIrish are far away and need an extra day to travel. Put NI in with Tax, it doesn't pay for itself and get tax credits, don't bring back 10p but increase allowances accordingly. Then I may move back to the UK.

[tally]

An English Parliament does not mean another layer of politicians. It looks like another bunch of thickos heading for westminster then?

[Edward Huxley]

The fact that "Europe" isn`t even mentioned means that these prospective MPs are happy with the fact that 80% of our laws come from the EU - soon to be 100% if Brussels gets its way. They will have a well paid job with generous expenses and a gold plated pension without having to do any work.

Roll on the old gravy train

[Paul Marks]

We must get powers back from the European Union - for if we do not we will not be able to deal with anything else.

And if there is no other way of getting powers back from the E.U. than to leave it - so be it.

[Cllr Lyndon Elias]

Protecting disused railway routes from re-development needs to be a priority. Unless road congestion is a good thing.

With passenger number at record levels and more to come Conservatives are shooting at an open goal. More freight by rail reduces both costs to those who must travel by road and road repair bills.

Downing Street has embargoed re-openings in England, an own-goal!

[Stephen Gash]

An English Parliament for these reasons
1 The only reason MPs oppose one is because it would make Westminster MPs jobless. The Scottish Parliament made MPs powerless in Scotland. Therefore a much reduced UK Parliament would result. We could actually end up with fewer politicians not more.
2 It would give England direct representation in the UK, EU and other political groups like the British/Irish Council which it does not have now.
3 It would focus on England's needs without one eye on the UK
4 England would have a First Minister elected in England
5 It would provide clarity and equality

[Kev]

How about allowing public buildings & work-places to have smoking rooms (with forced-air ventilation)?