SIR – Only the Conservative and Labour parties are capable of winning enough seats in the general election to form a government. Votes for any other parties are wasted votes, as they will never have enough seats to carry out their promises.

It comes down to the following simple choice: do you vote for the Labour Party, which brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy, or do you vote for the Conservative Party, which is currently leading a Government that is achieving a remarkable recovery?

We now have more people in work than at any time in history, we are one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and we have record low inflation.

Unless the electorate has a very short memory, it must turn out to vote Conservative in May.

Max Faber

London SW19 SIR – Conservative MPs are trying to promote the successes their party has achieved during the past five years in office. Yet somehow the polls do not show a rise in Tory fortunes. An improving economy is clearly not enough.

I find that in any political discussion with friends, two issues raise their heads each time: immigration and the benefits system.

A T Brookes

Charlwood, Surrey SIR – By lowering corporation tax yet again (report, telegraph. co.uk, March 18), the Chancellor George Osborne has ensured that it is big business, multinational corporations and the banks that will benefit.

Meanwhile, ordinary British business is being crippled by huge business rates on factories and high street properties.

It is clear that Tory ministers are totally out of touch with small business, as they will no doubt learn to their cost in May.

Rodney Atkinson

Stocksfield, Northumberland SIR – I shall vote for the party that proposes that more money be spent on defence.

Chris Harding

Parkstone, Dorset SIR – Energy is one of the major policy challenges facing Britain today.

Energy prices in the European Union are broadly speaking double those of international competitors. Industries are moving out of the EU, taking their jobs and their investment with them. Often they go to jurisdictions with lower emissions standards, which ultimately results in increased global emissions.

Ukip offers an energy policy based on coal, gas and nuclear – with a place for renewables if and when they become competitive. However, we cannot implement a rational energy policy in Britain as long as we are in the EU.

Therefore energy, like so much else, becomes a sovereignty issue (leading article, March 15).

Roger Helmer MEP (Ukip)

Market Harborough, Leicestershire SIR – The Conservatives’ problem is that many traditional Conservative voters do not see this country’s future tied to the European Union.

Unless the Tory leadership resolves this problem, the party is likely to lose out on election day.

Ken Rimmer

Chelmsford, Essex

SIR – George Osborne’s Budget is a complete hoax. So is the response from Ed Miliband.

The reality is that the national debt is out of control. Servicing this debt costs the country £55 billion per year.

There are only two questions for any politician during the runup to the election: what is the current level of national debt? And what are you going to do about it?

Michael Stone

Moretonhampstead, Devon SIR – Our fascination with politicians’ embarrassment has gone too far.

Amusing though they are, surely John Prescott’s Jag count, the number of pints drunk by Nigel Farage or Ed Miliband’s kitchen tally warrant less scrutiny than the policies presented by their parties.

Peter Saunders

Salisbury, Wiltshire