COASTAL towns such as Southport will be rescued from a downward spiral of unemployment, crime and coastal erosion, the Conservatives pledged.

The Tories unveiled a policy package for seaside resorts – which they dubbed "Cinderella" towns under Labour – while the Shadow Cabinet spent the day shivering on seafronts around England.

Pointing to Southport, they claimed violent crime had leapt by 25% over the last decade and by an average of 78% across the largest seaside towns.

No fewer than 26 of the 37 principal seaside towns suffer worse deprivation than the English average, with Southport just above that benchmark.

Among the policy promises were:

Scrapping stamp duty for first-time buyers on properties worth up to £250,000 – taking nine out of 10 first-time buyers in coastal towns out of paying the levy;

Encouraging councils to form Local Tourism Partnerships, with responsibility for distributing funds from VisitEngland – a role currently performed by regional development agencies;

Allowing privately-owned, listed seaside heritage attractions – such as piers – to apply for Lottery funding;

Cancelling Labour's council tax revaluation which, the Tories claimed, would hike bills for households enjoying sea views;

Stepping up talks with insurers to increase the number of residents living near the coast with the protection of flood insurance.

Caroline Spelman, the Conservative local government spokeswoman, said: "Our coastal towns present a golden opportunity which Labour ministers have well and truly ignored. Instead of gripping this potential, Labour's regional quangos have sidelined seaside towns.

“Conservatives will give local councils and communities more power and funding to help create a coastal town resurgence."

Tory strategists believe that seaside town "swing" seats will be very important at next year's general election – with no fewer than 26 on their party’s winnable list.

Those targets include Southport, where Liberal Democrat John Pugh, after nine years at Westminster, will defend a slender majority of just 3,838.