David Cameron disclosed plans to axe stamp duty for some first-time house buyers and junked plans to charge for out-of-town supermarket car parks as he began setting out his policy platform at the end of a 20-month review.

After digesting 2 million words of policy analysis stretching over 2,000 pages, Mr Cameron has been faced with the difficult task of reconciling the many detailed, controversial and sometimes contradictory policies dreamt up by his five teams. So far he has accepted the following ideas:

Tax breaks for couples with children

Couples living together get the same Working Tax Credits as a lone parent on the same income, first proposed by the Social Justice Policy Group. If the couple part, the credits rise, according to the party. Mr Cameron proposes an increase in Working Tax Credits for couples – married or unmarried – from £3,430 to £5,385 (£38 per week) ending what the Tories call the “couple penalty”.

This would cost £1.8 million and make couples up to £2,000 better off, paid for by “aggressive” penalties for those who turn down jobs, and the pri-vatisation of welfare-to-work.

It is means-tested, given through the wage packet to those on low-paying jobs. Same-sex couples with adopted children or children from a previous relationship could also qualify, but couples without children would not.

Stamp duty

The Tories are proposing to raise the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £250,000 for first-time buyers. They say this would mean 9 out of 10 first-time buyers would not pay duty, helping 200,000 to save about £2,000 each. This would cost £400 million a year, but the party has not yet specified how it will be paid for. The party says that more than half of first-time buyers now pay stamp duty, and the first-time buyer now pays £1,675, compared to nothing in 1997. They would identify first-time buyers, they say, by checking declarations against records from the land registry and credit references.

Airline pollution

Air Passenger Duty, which applies to each passenger, leaving empty planes unpenalised, is replaced by airline pollution duty – a tax per flight. Coming from the Quality of Life policy review, it seeks to encourage more efficient planes and lower emissions. The party also supports the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, but believes it will do little to constrain demand for air travel and points out that it does not take effect until 2011. The party has dropped plans that it had been examining for a cap on holiday flights and VAT on domestic flights.

Renegotiate GP contract

The Conservatives want to renegotiate the GP contract to transfer the responsibility for out-of-hours care from the Primary Care Trust to GPs.

They would also allow patients to choose a GP near work, offer individual budgets for those with stable, predictable long-term conditions and a new telephone number, 116116, for all nonemergency healthcare. They would establish HealthWatch, a consumer voice for patients.

Raising inheritance tax threshold

George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, is widely reported to be considering plans to raise the £300,000 threshold for inheritance tax – which is already due to rise to £350,000 by 2010 – and to reduce the 40 per cent rate at which the tax is levied. He has also appeared sympathetic to proposals to axe the tax on a main residence.

Mr Cameron has also dropped plans for higher taxes on alcohol and charges for out-of-town supermarket parking, both of which caused uproar amongst activists.

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