PENSIONS, council tax and house prices were just some of the key issues tackled by Conservative leader David Cameron when he visited Basingstoke.

As many local people prepare to vote in this year's borough council elections on May 4, Mr Cameron met with a small group of voters to hear their concerns, and to explain some Conservative policies.

As he arrived at The Ark Conference Centre, Mr Cameron asked for a coffee, explaining that his baby son Arthur, born in February, had kept him awake during the night.

He said: "I was doing the middle-of-the-night feed last night, so I need very strong coffee, I think."

But he quickly turned his attention to the serious business of answering questions from the group of pensioners and representatives from Basingstoke Age Concern, the Basingstoke and Deane Young At Heart Over-55s Forum and the University of the Third Age - a learning and support network for older people.

He admitted to the group that he would not make them any promises about what he could do for them, but said he wanted to strengthen Conservative policy.

Mr Cameron said: "We have just lost our third general election, sadly, so I think we need to work on our policies.

"I can't make promises out of the blue though. I am determined to show people that we are going to put stability first and not make promises about cutting taxes."

Mr Cameron spoke to the pensioners about the policies that affect them, such as council tax, pensions and the cost of residential care.

He said: "Council tax is still a concern - particularly for pensioners, who are paying out from fixed incomes.

"I think I am right in saying there have been increases of 85 per cent for people in Basingstoke in the last eight years. Are your services 85 per cent better than they were eight years ago?

"It is a stealth tax - it just keeps going up and up. It is a huge amount of money out of your pension and we have got to have a stronger state pension."

Mr Cameron said a shake-up was needed in the way people pay for residential care in their old age, suggesting that people should put aside money to pay for one year of care and, after that contribution, the Government would pay the rest.

He explained: "It is sort of fair. It is sharing the responsibility. At the moment, the person who has saved has to pay for everything and the person that has not, does not have to pay.

"We could do what they have done in Scotland and make it free for all. But it is very expensive and people might push their relatives into going into residential care too soon."

Mr Cameron said youth crime and petty crime, which is a worry for many residents in Basingstoke, could be tackled with better facilities and policing.

"I think ASBOs do work but there are two things we have got to look at," he explained.

"On the one hand, making sure young people have something to do, but, on the other hand, we need really active policing, beat-based policing, to crack down on the sort of misdemeanours that upset people."

Mr Cameron said shared-ownership schemes, where the housing association part-owns the flat, would enable first-time buyers in the South East to get a foot on the housing ladder, but the Government needed to invest in the infrastructure to support all the new housing.

He told The Gazette. "The Government is putting expansion before infrastructure. That causes so much concern in the south of England. We have these top-down housing targets and no infrastructure."

Asked what he thought of The Gazette's Basingstoke - A Place To Be Proud Of campaign, Mr Cameron said: "I would certainly give it my backing. I know Basingstoke well and it's a lovely area to live in."

During his hour-long visit, the Conservative leader also discussed topics such as the new NHS dentist contract, ageism in the workplace, inheritance tax and environmental issues, such as the hosepipe bans and making cars more environmentally friendly.

He said: "We need Government to think about these environmental things in the long term. I do not think we are going to get that at the moment, with these two Tony Blair and Gordon Brown fighting like cats."

First published: Thursday, April 6, 2006