PENSIONS, jobs and the economy are topping the debate in South East Cornwall as the main contenders for the constituency in the General Election battle it out to win votes.

With just a week to go, candidates are hot on the campaign trail with the Liberal Democrats hoping to retain the seat they have held for the past 13 years and the Conservatives attempting to claw back the constituency they once dominated.

Karen Gillard, the Liberal Democrat candidate from Torpoint, said there was strong support for the party in South East Cornwall but she hoped others would come out and vote Lib Dem.

Referring to the retiring MP, Liberal Democrat Colin Breed, she said: 'He has been a very popular MP and has very big shoes to fill but I have been working hard in the constituency over the past couple of years doing casework.

'We have been really busy during this campaign and it has been fantastic getting around the whole of South East Cornwall and finding out the issues on the doorstep.'

'We need to make sure that people are not more hard-pressed than they already are and our policy of no income tax on the first £10,000 of earnings has gone down well. So too has the introduction of a bank levy to claw back some of the taxpayers' money from greedy banks.

'These policies have received big ticks from everybody at the moment. It is only the Conservative and Labour parties who are running so scared of what the people of this country want, which is change. We are the only party which offers that.'

Conservative candidate Sherryl Murray said pensions were a big issue for the many elderly people in the constituency, who were reassured by the Tories' promise to link the state pension to earnings.

'They are reassured that we will keep the £250 heating allowance, free bus pass and free TV licence for the over 75s, free prescriptions and eye tests,' she said.

Mrs Murray, who is from Millbrook, said she had spent time talking with the business sector in Callington, who were impressed by the Conservatives' pledge to cut red tape and reduce the rate of corporation tax, plus help small businesses.

'There is also a lot of concern about the Lib Dems' pledge to get rid of the Trident nuclear missile. If the Trident programme is abandoned and there is no replacement there will be huge implications for jobs in South East Cornwall.'

She said it was going to be a close fight in this election but history was clear that every time a Liberal Democrat was elected in in South East Cornwall there was a Labour government. 'If we want change to happen it must happen here,' she said.

Labour candidate Michael Sparling is urging people to vote for him to 'secure the economic recovery and protect frontline services'.

Green candidate Roger Creagh-Osborne said only the Greens had a fully costed programme which would deliver environmental, social and economic benefits, including reducing the deficit faster than Labour, while protecting and improving vital public services.

Mebyon Kernow candidate Roger Holmes wants to see a more practical approach to major problems such as drugs and immigration and an elected Cornish assembly so local people can decide their own priorities.

UKIP's Steph McWilliam says her party can help farmers and fishermen by fighting against common agricultural and fishing policies and offering immigration patrols.