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What are the stepping stones to a Conservative majority?

By Tim Montgomerie
Follow Tim on Twitter.

The key ingredients of electoral success are well known. A reputation for economic competence. A strong leader. A united party. A sense of vision for the country.

But what specific other things does the Conservative Party need to offer voters? What do we need to do in order to win a majority at the next election. Here's a list of twelve possibilities. I plan to test these ideas in tomorrow's ConservativeHome survey...

  1. More outreach to female voters
  2. The replacement of the Big Society message with a message that emphasises jobs, education and family as the best way out of poverty
  3. Better use of the internet so that we run the best websites and online campaigns
  4. More candidates from northern, working class and local backgrounds are probably more important for winning elections than women and ethnic minority candidates  
  5. More emphasis on looking after the local environment and less focus on tackling climate change
  6. We should not spend money on expensive renewable energies when people are struggling to pay their gas and electricity bills
  7. A referendum on Britain's relationship with the EU
  8. When there is scope for tax cuts the lion’s share should go to lower income Britons, not to the better off
  9. If there is no room to cut the overall tax burden we should rebalance the tax system by cutting taxes like National Insurance and increasing taxes on expensive properties
  10. A third of all ministers should be women
  11. We should stand up for England and reform the Barnett formula so that people in England get a fairer share of total UK-wide expenditure
  12. We should be tougher on welfare and anyone found guilty of serious criminal behaviour should be at risk of losing their council house and benefits.

What initiatives would you add to this list?

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