Hanging in the balance

In substance, Britain’s general election campaign is a phoney war. The three main parties will attempt to deal with economic crisis through harsh cuts in public services, public-sector pay and conditions, and will back parallel attacks in the private sector. Timescales and degrees may vary but the essentials remain the same. PETER TAAFFE reports on the current political situation and the possibility – rare in Britain – of a hung parliament, even a coalition government.

The Tories’ cut-it-yourself co-op plan

SINCE HE became leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron has attempted to portray himself as a ‘caring Conservative’, trying to shake off the Tories’ image as the ‘nasty party’. The Tories’ recent policy paper, Power to Public Sector Workers, which puts the case for ‘Conservative co-ops’, is the latest move of this nature. While reading it, the phrase ‘beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing’ comes to mind. GREG MAUGHAN reports.

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