WHAT THEIR £2.4BN CASH PILE COULD PAY FOR...

7 new hospitals, or 480,000 hip operations – or 2,700 MRI scanners

70 new schools, or the salaries of 106,000 newly-qualified teachers

60 years of research into cures and treatment for prostate cancer at the same levels given to breast cancer 125,000 police officers to patrol the streets

2 new Type-45 destroyers for the Royal Navy

110,000 newly-qualified nurses, or the same number of Herceptin treatments for breast cancer