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Tory manifesto pledges more Olympic medals for British athletes

The Tories plan to achieve the policy with 'elite' sports training

Tuesday 14 April 2015 19:45 BST

David Cameron and Boris Johnson celebrate Great Britain's Olympic athletes during a 2012 parade (AFP/Getty)

British athletes will be helped to win more medals at the Olympics in the event of a Conservative victory in the general election, the party’s manifesto has pledged.

In the section outlining the party’s policies on sport the manifesto says: “We want our sportsmen and women to win even more medals in Rio 2016 than they did in London 2012.”

The ambitious policy comes after days of questions about whether the Conservatives could deliver a number of their manifesto promises.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats over the weekend accused the Tories of pledging billions of pounds of unfunded cash for the NHS.

If delivered, the Olympic medals policy would see Team GB’s medal count rise from 65 – a haul which put the UK’s athletes in third place in the London 2012 Olympics.

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Show all 10

1/10In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Andrew Hawkins (ComRes)

“Events last week have reinforced my prediction that the Tories will be the largest party. Ukip’s slow puncture may help the Tories most, and Nicola Sturgeon may well fulfil her wish to keep David Cameron in No 10 by reducing Labour’s Scottish MPs to numbers that could fit in a stretch limo.”

Andrew Hawkins

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Joe Twyman (YouGov)

“The national picture remains largely unchanged, but YouGov’s Scotland polling shows the SNP at an all-time high. Only 44 per cent of Labour supporters felt Jim Murphy performed best in the first Scottish leaders’ debate.”

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Ben Page (Ipsos MORI)

“I need to see a more decisive shift in the polls to think that Labour have definitely moved ahead of the Conservatives. There has been more good news for Labour than the Conservatives, with Ed Miliband’s personal ratings improving. Still, a hung parliament remains the most likely option.”

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Rick Nye (Populus)

“No change.”

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Nick Moon (GfK)

“I haven’t changed my broad view that the Tories will be the largest party, but Labour is likely to form a minority government. Last week’s projection (Con 280, Lab 273) looks pretty likely to me. The risk for Labour was that, as decision time looms, voters might take ahold of nurse, but that may be mitigated by Miliband’s showing in the debates.”

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Damian Lyons Lowe (Survation)

“Unchanged, except for an SNP uptick at Labour’s expense. The SNP’s surge in Survation’s polling continues unabated. Nicola Sturgeon scored well in our debate polling.”

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Michelle Harrison (TNS)

“Despite all the sound, fury and bluster, there has been no game-changer. If anything, it’s become even tougher for the major parties, with signs of a softening in Conservative support and continued evidence that the SNP will inflict major damage on Labour.”

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

James Endersby (Opinium Research)

“Our latest polling figures, published today, show movement back towards the Conservatives (a two-point Tory lead). My prediction last week of a shaky sway back in favour of the Tories on election day holds fast; and with a hung parliament, who on earth knows who’ll be able to form a government?”

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Martin Boon (ICM)

“At the equivalent point before the 2010 election, our poll suggested 37 per cent for the Tories and 31 per cent for Labour, which more or less nailed the actual result. I think that campaigns mostly reinforce perceptions rather than change minds.”

In pictures: Experts' predictions for the General Election - 11/04/15

Lord Ashcroft (Lord Ashcroft Polls)

He refuses to make predictions. “My polls are snapshots, not predictions.”

Rex

The Conservatives say they will “continue to support elite sports funding as part of our Olympic and Paralympic legacy” in order to make their commitment a reality.

The next Olympics are to be held next year in 2016 and will be hosted in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

The manifesto was launched by David Cameron today, who emphasised the party's policy of extending Right To Buy to housing association tenants.

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