On Tuesday, the Conservative Party released its election manifesto, one day after the Labour Party, whose policy pledges focused on improving the situation of working people and keeping public spending below the level of borrowing.

Conservative environment secretary Liz Truss unveiled the government’s farming and rural policies in an interview with the Telegraph on Sunday. Truss promised to increase the number of foods accorded protected name status, set up a ‘Great British Food’ unit to promote British food and farming, triple the number of apprenticeships available to young people and create one single body to carry out farm inspections.  

On Tuesday, Prime Minister David Cameron focused on home ownership and tax reduction. He said on releasing the party's manifesto that, if the Conservatives are re-elected next month, the government would set up more 'right to buy' schemes and build 400,000 new homes across Britain by 2020.

Unveiling the manifesto in Swindon, Cameron said, "We are the party of working people, offering you security at every stage of your life."

The Conservatives also promised to eliminate income tax for the country’s lowest earners and have stood by their promise to hold an in-out referendum on EU membership by 2017.

In addition to repeating the Thatcher-era right-to-buy policy, the Tories promised to reduce inheritance tax, increase NHS funding by £8bn a year and ensure that rail fares do not rise above inflation.  

Labour, who promised to build 200,000 new homes and framed their manifesto in terms of 'responsible spending', said the right-to-buy pledge would cost billions and criticised the Tories' housing and NHS spending policies as improperly costed.

Speaking on BBC Radio, shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds said housing associations could not be made to give up their properties for the Tories' right-to-buy scheme.