Conservative party

The remarks by the Tory chair came as Downing Street did little to distance itself from a report in the Daily Telegraph that Cameron will give an undertaking during the general election campaign not to enter into another coalition even if he falls short of an overall majority. A No 10 source said: "The prime minister has made clear he is going all out for a Conservative majority." … [Read more...] about The Workers’ party? That’s us, say Conservatives in bid to rebrand

But the industry has gone now, and the working men with it. If you work hard in Sweden today it is almost certainly at a desk and in a cosmopolitan city. The Social Democrats have become the party of women working in the public sector. They are identified, at least in Moderate propaganda, as the consumers of taxes while the workers in the private sector are seen as the people who pay for the whole show. In that sense they believe they are the workers – and they are also the Conservative voters. … [Read more...] about The Conservatives as the Workers’ party? It’s an idea taken from Sweden

David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg, Nicola Sturgeon, Leanne Wood, Natalie Bennett and Nigel Farage all urged people to sign up to vote by Monday. Asked by the Guardian to set aside their differences and put their case for voting, they provided statements on Thursday warning of dwindling engagement in politics and the importance of young people’s votes. Farage, the Ukip leader, said: “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.” The Lib Dems’ Clegg insisted that voting would make a difference and the parties are “not all the same”. … [Read more...] about General election 2015: party leaders urge millions to register to vote

employment tribunal fees; tried to introduce no fault dismissal legislation only for it to be blocked by Vince Cable; failing to implement the Temporary Agency Workers Directive properly; brought in a ‘shares for rights’ scheme, which allows workers to give up basic employment rights in exchange for company shares; reduced the amount of time employers need to consult on collective redundancies from 90 days to 45 days; removed legal aid for all employment cases except discrimination But the blog also argues against focusing on narrowly economic issues. Culturally, the Tories might well be closer to the interests (or wants) of the traditional working classes than left-wing parties - namely on immigration and welfare, says Bloodworth. … [Read more...] about Do the Tories have any claim to be the Workers’ party?

Again the Tories have to pull off an ideological sleight of hand, one copied from the Republicans. The parties of the elite have to locate "aspiration" as an individual trait with success as its manifest destiny. How else can Cameron and his circle-jerk cabinet of mutual congratulation explain how they took power? Against which of life's odds have they struggled? No, it is truly their amazing characters that have ensured their position. … [Read more...] about The Tories pretend to be the workers’ party while hanging on to elitism