DAVID Cameron visited East Lancashire yesterday as part of the general election campaign trail.

The prime minister was accompanied by his wife Samantha on a trip to Buckshaw Village, Chorley, to see how the Conservative’s Help to Buy scheme was assisting first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder.

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Mr Cameron, fresh from the live leaders’ debate on ITV the night before, met with Robert Arron and Kelly Jeffers and their children Finlay and Regan, who told them about their experience of buying their home with help from the programme.

The Conservative Party leader also spoke to the Lancashire Telegraph, explaining that welfare cuts were inevitable to stop taxes being increased.

He said: “We have saved £206 million of welfare and if we keep creating jobs, making sure people who can work, do work, it is effectively possible to cut people’s taxes.

Lancashire Telegraph:

“We are raising the minimum wage. It is going up to £6.70 and onwards to £7 and £8. We are going to take lower-paid people out of tax and that will help people in East Lancashire who are on lower salaries.”

Mr Cameron also spoke about Lancashire receiving £434 million investment to help the county compete as part of a ‘northern powerhouse’.

He said: “It is about linking up all of the great cities together so they can form a real counterpoint. It is worth remembering in the North West that jobs are growing faster than in the South West.”

He also promised ‘proper investment and planning processes’ for fracking, with communities benefitting from £100,000 per well.

Mr Cameron also met up with Chorley’s Conservative candidate Rob Loughenbury who said he was delighted to see his party leader in Chorley, where at the last election, Labour’s Lindsay Hoyle won with a majority of 2,593.

Mr Loughenbury said: “It is fantastic the prime minister came to Chorley, which is one of the party’s target seats.

“He is immensely popular on the doorstep and it is a huge benefit having him come to visit us.”