ON law, order and security the Conservatives have said they will "back the police every inch of the way".
The manifesto supports the establishment of a national crime squad to tackle organised crime. In addition, the Conservatives will, should they be elected, support the installation of 10,000 closed circuit televisions in town centres, extending a scheme already in operation in some parts of the country.
The Conservatives will introduce electronically monitored curfew orders on offenders, to include those aged 16 and over. Five thousand extra constables will be recruited over three years, and a new Conservative government will introduce a voluntary identity card scheme.
Restoring key sections of the Crime Bill, opposed in the House of Lords, will be an important feature of a new Conservative government. It will introduce minimum sentences for violent and persistent criminals and the courts will get the power to detain persistent juvenile offenders.
Local child crime teams will refer truants and young offenders to programmes to assess their behaviour and involve their parents in the scheme.
Describing themselves as the "guardians of the NHS", the Conservatives say they will increase spending on the health service [every year in line with inflation. The Labour Party matched this pledge last week.
Under the Patient's Charter, the Tories will publish more information on how hospitals are treating patients and the length of waiting lists, so that doctors and patients can make "informed choices".