Recent opinion polls have revealed a sharp rise in the Tories lead over Labour, following Alastair Darling's first budget as Chancellor last week.

One poll, conducted by ICM for The Guardian, put the Conservatives at 42% - 13 points clear of Labour on 29%. According to ICM, the scale of Tory support is comparable to that under Margaret Thatcher at the time of her third General Election victory in 1987. Labour's 29%, meanwhile, is at its lowest level since ICM and The Guardian began polling in 1983 - a time when David Cameron was only just discovering the joys of cannabis at Eton.

In Totnes, no doubt, the local Tory party faithful will have been out in force toasting the news of their 13 point lead, keen as they are to secure a 7th term of office for their MP, Anthony Steen. Who knows, the quickest amongst them may have been lucky enough to fill their glasses before the Chancellor's freshly announced alcohol taxes came into effect.

Meanwhile what of the Liberal Democrats? They've been desperate to add the Totnes seat to their portfolio for years and they've run the Tories mighty close on a couple of occasions. Will the Conservatives renewed popularity, achieved off the back of a dismally unpopular Labour Government, make the Totnes seat an even harder nut to crack for the Lib Dems next time? Has the seat become, quite simply, unwinnable for them? Not unsurprisingly, Julian Brazil, the Lib Dems Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Totnes, thinks not.

“The Lib Dems are back to 21% in some polls, if we keep on rising we are into unchartered waters” said Brazil. “Anything is possible” he added.

The Lib Dems have always been an optimistic lot, they've had to be, but in a seat such as Totnes there's one issue the party can curry local favour on that might just win them the seat next time, in spite of the Tory resurgence. The issue? Well, two actually: affordable housing and second home ownership. Both Labour and the Conservatives are found lacking here.

In his budget, the Chancellor cut the maximum rate of Capital Gains Tax from 40% to 18%. With less tax to pay on any profit made when a second home is sold on, the move is likely to encourage more second home buyers to buy in rural areas like the South Hams.

“Second homes are more attractive than ever as an investment and this is disastrous for our local communities” said Brazil, who is campaigning for an increase in capital gains tax on these properties.

Brazil goes further and supports the introduction of an Impact Tax on second homes to reflect the damage they cause to rural communities. In areas such as the South Hams which have a high concentration of second home ownership, locals who can't afford to buy property are often forced to move away. Eventually, there are too few permanent residents to keep village shops and schools viable, and the community suffers.

Brazil explains, “An Impact Tax would see second home owners pay an extra tax designed specifically to ease the housing crisis, because the revenue raised would be used to fund more affordable housing in rural communities.”

The Impact Tax sounds a sure fire vote winner, one that any candidate would embrace in an area where affordable housing is consistently the number one issue in the post bags and inboxes of our local politicians. Yet Anthony Steen opposes both this measure and a rise in Capital Gains Tax paid on second homes. It's unusual for the Conservatives, renowned as they are as the party of political expediency, to miss such an opportunity.

So, whilst the political tide may well have turned towards the Conservatives in the national arena, the thorny issue of affordable housing just might help turn the tide against them here at the next General Election.