Conservative conference

'There's leadership, common sense, responsibility, aspiration and opportunity'

What did the floating voters think?
Rhona Shepherd, 31

Runs business and sports management consultancy in Edinburgh

"The rhythm and pace of his talk was great and he put in quite a few buying signals, to use the jargon. There's leadership, common sense, responsibility, aspiration and opportunity. Some of the things like lower corporation tax and reduced capital gains tax and a higher threshold for 40% taxpayers are great news for me as an entrepreneur. However, you do wonder what the payoff will be. Reducing regulation and taxation for businesses if they demonstrate more social responsibility is great, and our company is right up for contributing something back to society."

Voting intention in a snap poll


Lucy Haiselden, 23

Staff nurse at Royal Bournemouth hospital

"I haven't voted for a while but I was impressed with Cameron. It's nice that he recognised how hard people work in the NHS. He also talked about saving general hospitals. People want general hospitals to stay. I think he was short on detail at times - quite often he said we would do something about an issue but didn't say what he would do. I thought he might be stuffy but he didn't come over like that. I liked it that he didn't use an Autocue. He seemed to be speaking not just to the people there, but to me as well."

Voting intention

More likely to vote Tory now

Simon Cronshaw, 25

Head of research at a charity, from Cambridge

"It was surprisingly good. He gave us a lot of detail which impressed me. I wanted to hear what life would be like under him and he gave a good picture across a wide range of areas. A lot of what he said ticked boxes for me from my personal experiences and those of people I know, particularly the area of people like mayors and police being directly accountable to the people they're serving. Buying a house is a high priority for me but it's completely out of my reach - so I'd welcome changes to stamp duty with open arms."

Voting intention


Mussie Abbasi Harrison, 49

Author, also helps at her husband's mortgage brokerage in Glasgow

"He seems to be making a lot of commitments but I feel like it's only 50-50 whether he will go through with them. I was a senior youth worker for eight years and I think he's wrong on discipline. Children should not be kicked out of school. They should be suspended, and given punishments like more homework, extra lessons and after-school lessons. I was hoping to hear him say there should be more police on the streets. And I didn't like what he said about benefits. If a couple aren't happy together, why should they have to live together?"

Voting intention


John Yates, 78

Retired clerical worker from Erdington, Birmingham

"He's a good orator but the actual content was too glossy. He didn't concentrate on the finer points which I was looking for. I was very disappointed there wasn't anything on restoring the link between earnings and pensions, and I'd hoped for more on the elderly. The lifeboat fund for those who lost out on private pensions is good, but where's the money coming from? I agree that more powers should be given to headteachers and schools, and with the restoration of marriage allowance. But he would have to do a lot more to persuade me to vote Conservative."

Voting intention


Stacey Thompson, 21

Works in sales after a New Deal course to get lone parents back in employment, Bolton

"I agreed with almost everything he said, apart from people's benefits being stopped if they refuse a job. It's a really good idea to change the system to encourage people to stay together because lots of couples do separate so they'll get more benefits. I'm a single mother but I wasn't offended by the stuff about making tax cheaper if you're married. I think it's actually true what he said about children from broken homes often not doing so well in life. It was a really good, personal speech and he didn't act like an MP. He came across particularly well when he talked about his children and his family. "

Voting intention

Probably Conservative

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