I've had dealings with two of the nominees : Steve Bell and Charles Heslop. Both are hugely supportive to local volunteers and Associations and genuinely believe in communicating views upwards aswell as down the chain; they will certainly be getting two of my votes. If we want a bit of energy at the heart of the party, then we really do need these two people sitting on the board.

Hear Hear!

I simply do not see how it would have been possible to field or ask residents to vote for a 'Coalition Candidate.' If the Conservatives did not stand a candidate then we would perhaps have been asking residents in OE&S to vote Lib Dem (not for the Coalition) or vice versa. If one person had stood under a 'Coalition' banner then how would they have been chosen and to whom would they have been answerable? The local Conservative Association or the local Lib Dem Executive? The only workable way for a 'Coalition Candidate' to be selected would be via an Open Primary; but then, who foots the bill? Either way, the emergence of 'Coalition Candidates' can only further erode the role of Associations and the party's grassroots.

I completely agree, Elaine; particularly with regard to your first point. The problem these days is that the term 'conviction politician' is more pertinent to MPs being dragged through the law courts.

"Countries like Norway still have to implement 90% of EU law to trade with the EU and comply with their standards." Does this mean that China or the USA or myriad other nations also implement 90% of EU law to trade with us too? I think not.

Could you name another Parliament who is not allowed to initiate legislation and where it is essential to be unelected in order to do so? This is the fundamental reason why the EU is a uniquely undemocratic democracy.

Oh dear. Who took responsibility for regulating the banks away from The Bank of England? Who was the biggest advocate of 'light-touch' regulation for the banks and personally took the decision to allow it? Gordon Brown. Some people have very selective memories.

I agree completely Rupert. While there is possibly widespread acceptance that the 'airwar' was not as good as it could and should have been, the disparity of results across the country indicate that this cannot be attributed as the sole reason for the failure to achieve an overall majority.

Well said. Pragmatism has won the day and speaking to people earlier today (non-political people), they all seem rather impressed with how David Cameron has managed the situation.

But he leads the most popular party in the country, so should be included in any future government; anything else is a political elite stitch-up and the public will view it in the same way. How can policies such as Health (English only matter) be up for negotiation when the Conservatives secured an overwhelming majority in England?

I guess it depends what you mean by 'looking after the environment'. Looking after the environment should be focused on recycling (reducing waste), energy efficiency (reducing waste), and the protection of our natural environment. All of the above are core conservative beliefs and where it departs from the left is when we start to talk about carbon taxes and the like. There are very good reasons for being an environmentalist, but they do not include the 'mentalist' view on carbon emissions being the root of all evil!

There may well have been some movement in Portsmouth, although that is conjecture, but it would have to be pretty seismic to have a discernible effect on the results. In 2008 the Conservatives in Portsmouth polled more than Labour & Lib Dems combined, so while this may have been the high point, any slips since then would still leave us in a strong position and I know that many of the Conservatives in Portsmouth have been working very hard week in, week out since then.

I do apologise, Elaine, I should have been more specific. I was referring to your statement that 'Portsmouth is a basket case'.

I don't think that that is a fair comment Elaine. At best it is 50% accurate.

You obviously don't know him then!

Very well argued, Nick. Similar brutal assessments of the record of this abysmal Government should be forthcoming over the campaign ahead. People will only vote for change if we explain WHY change is so desperately needed. It's a two-prong approach.

Do all the troops vote Tory? If they did, you could hardly blame them after they way they have been treated by Gordon Brown over many years. They weren't nicknamed 'the borrowers' by the Americans for nothing!

A truly fantastic campaign video! Positive and upbeat with varied content and professionally produced. Sincere congratulations and all the very best in your campaign, Annesley.

Many thanks. Should be useful in discussions with a couple of PPCs.

Tim, could you point to the evidence that immigration is the number two issue for voters. I am not asserting that it doesn't exist, but would like the evidence to hand when talking with some people.

The posts above are unfortunately true and we should be careful of lobbing bricks from our glass house on this one.

Congratulations Sam. After the sterling efforts you made in the Gosport Open Primary I knew it was only a matter of time before you landed a seat. Well done, you will be a huge asset on the green benches.

I can't believe that people think that more politicians is the answer. I'm not quite sure that the public at large would agree. What they want is equality and fairness. This can be easily delivered via 'English votes for English MPs' and a review of spending formulae for different parts of the UK, rebalancing it properly to address need rather than geography.

Therese Coffey would be an outstanding candidate for Suffolk Coastal. Hardworking, committed, intelligent and articulate and with a real passion to make a difference on the ground. Having campaigned with Therese during the 2009 Euro elections, I am sure that her views on the EU will go down very well if this is indeed a euro-sceptic constituency. Don't let Therese slip through your fingers, Suffolk Coastal!

1. Maria Hutchings in Eastleigh has been fighting very hard and gave up full-time work to concentrate on being a full-time candidate. She is meeting and working with local residents every day and her television appearance where she tackled Tony Blair about the lack of provision for children with special needs was exceptional. 2. Singling out one reason why I would like to get rid of Chris Huhne is difficult, but how about the fact that he setup and runs the Lib Dems 'Conservative Attack Unit'. 3. The majority is just over 500 and this constituency also had the iwantareferendum.com campaign stage a referendum in Eastleigh, which saw a huge turnout against the Constitution/Lisbon Treaty, which must be of relevance in fighting against such an ardent federalist such as Chris Huhne.