Tory spending pledges - good context

• Pledge to end the controversial policy of universal free school lunches for infants to fund an extra £1 billion per year for education – a funding commitment that will see every school receive more money;
•  Ditch the tax triple-lock that guaranteed no rises in income tax, national insurance or VAT, but will contain a general commitment to lower taxes;
• Keep a pledge to bring down immigration to the tens of thousands, but with no “arbitrary” deadline;
• Maintain the current policy of increasing the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020 and the policy of increasing the 40p tax threshold to £50,000 by 2020;
• Eradicate the deficit by the middle of the next decade;
• Double the immigration skills charge – currently £1,000 per year – levied on companies for each non-EU national they employ. 

Acknowledging that her plans will prove unpopular with some pensioners, the Prime Minister will say: “People are rightly sceptical of politicians who claim to have easy answers to deeply complex problems. It is the responsibility of leaders to be straight with people about the challenges ahead and the hard work required to overcome them.”

By means-testing winter fuel payments, which were introduced by Gordon Brown in 1997 and stand at £200 (rising to £300 for over-80s), the Conservatives could save more than £1.7 billion if they restrict the payments only to those who are classed as living in fuel poverty.

You need to be able to do more than just suggest the government could "cut spending on benefits". Try to memorise a few key figures - the Winter Fuel Payment is a good one - and use it to back up a statement.