Liberal / Lib Dem Manifestos

1979 Manifesto

• Representative Parliament and Government
• Electoral reform - Proportional system
• Open Government
• Accountable Government
• Reform Parliament
• Fixed dates for Parliamentary elections
• Replace the House of Lords for a democratic second chamber
• Decisions to be made at a local level
• Equality for men and women
• Legislation to protect individual rights
• Recruit more police
• Modernise prisons
• Increase non-custodial sentences
• Decrease restrictions on immigration
• Reduce inflation
• National minimum wage
• Reduce personal taxation
• Improve current housing
• Reduce class sizes in schools

1983 Manifesto

• Reduce unemployment
  
• Representative Parliament and Government
• Electoral reform - Proportional system
• Open Government
• Accountable Government
• Decentralise Government
  
• Reform Parliament
• Fixed dates for Parliamentary elections
• Replace the House of Lords for a democratic second chamber
• Compulsory secret ballots in trade unions
• Equality for men and women
• Recruit more police
• Modernise prisons
• Increase non-custodial sentences
• Support NATO whilst USSR have nuclear weapons
  
• Support ban of chemical weapons
  
• Push for multilateral disarment
  
• Cancel Trident
  
• A new Bill of Rights
  
• Prevent monopolies
• Reduce Government regulation in nationalised industries
  
• Decrease restrictions on immigration
• Reduce personal taxation
• Increase child benefit
  
• Up rate pensions twice a year
  
• Increase unemployment benefit
  
• Raise the upper limit of national insurance
  
• Improve current housing
• Invest in renewable energy
  
• Reduce class sizes in schools
• Oppotunity for a wider range of subjects
  
• Improve primary school teachers training
  
• Improve NHS standards
  

1987 Manifesto

• Representative Parliament and Government
• Electoral reform - Proportional system
• Open Government
• Accountable Government
• Reform Parliament
• Fixed dates for Parliamentary elections
• Replace the House of Lords for a democratic second chamber
• Devolve powers to the nations and regions of Britain
  
• Equality for men and women
• Legislation to protect individual rights
• Recruit more police
• Modernise prisons
• Increase non-custodial sentences
• Multilateral disarment
  
• Invest in renewable energy
  
• Reduce unemployment
  
• National minimum wage
• Reduce personal taxation
• Increase child benefit
  
• Increase the basic state pension
  
• Improve current housing
• Tackle inequalities in healthcare
  
• Reduce class sizes in schools
• Improve teacher training
  
• Uphold the right to pay for private education
  

1992 Manifesto

• Representative Parliament and Government
• Electoral reform - Proportional system
• Open Government
• Accountable Government
• Reform Parliament
• Fixed dates for Parliamentary elections
• Replace the House of Lords for a democratic second chamber
• Decisions to be made at a local level
• Invest in infrastructure
  
• Reduce unemployment
  
• Increase investment in education
• Protect private pensions
  
• Equality for men and women
• Create a new Bill of Rights which will centre a new written constitution
  
• Recruit more police
• Modernise prisons
• Increase non-custodial sentences
• Increase child benefit
  
• Increase the basic state pension
• Increase invalidity benefit
  
• Abolish the poll tax
  
• Break up monopolies
  
• Reduce inflation
• National minimum wage
• Reduce personal taxation
• Improve current housing
• Invest in renewable energy
• Get rid of nuclear fission power
  
• Reduce class sizes in schools
• Give teachers better training
  
• Increase oppotunities for higher education
  
• Abolish student loans
  
• Reduce inequalities within healthcare
• Reduce waiting lists in hospitals
  
• Support NATO, maintaining a minimum nuclear deterrent
  
• Restrict Trident
  

1997 Manifesto

• Representative Parliament and Government
• Increase funding for schools
  
• Reduce primary school class sizes
  
• Improve teacher training
• Strengthen school discipline
  
• Increase oppotunities for higher education
  
• Keep inflation low
  
• Invest in infrastructure
• Reduce unemployment
  
• Reduce monopolies
• New office to reulation privatised utilities
• Increase police force
  
• Build more housing
  
• Raise housing standards
  
• Alternatives to custodial sentences
  
• Cut hospital waiting lists
  
• Reduce inequalities within healthcare
  
• Raise standard of care in NHS
  
• Dcentralise power to regions, nations and communities
  
• Create a new Bill of Rights
  
• Open Government
  
• Reform Parliament
  
• Elected House of Lords
  
• Proportional representation for voting system
• Fix parliamentary terms
  
• Crack down on tax evasion
  
• New top rate tax of 50p
  
• Expand private pensions
  
• Equality for men and women
• Support NATO
• Sustain Trident until a stage where multilateral disarment can be achieved
  

Note that they no longer talk about incrreasing benefits.

Conservative Manifestos

1979 Manifesto:

• Increase individual freedom


• Decreasing the role of the state


• Control inflation


• Create new jobs


• Uphold Parliament


• Uphold the rule of law


• Increase home-owners


• Concerntrating welfare to those in real need


• Strengthen Britain's defences


• Reduce Government borrowing


• Reduce Government intervention in industry


• Reduce the trade unions role


• Picketing limited to those who's place of work it is


• Cut income tax


• Cut marginal rates of tax


• Privatise Aerospace


• Making planning restraints less rigid


• Improve pay and conditions for police


• Tougher sentences for criminals


• Cut court procedures to stop wasteful delay


• House of Commons to vote on capital punishment


• Decentralise the NHS


• Encourage families to look after each other


• Increase in retirement pensions


• Increase Britains defence


• Counter Soviet threat in the middle east

1983 Manifesto:

• Reduce unemployment


• Keep inflation low


• Strengthen the rule of law


• Uphold parliamentary democracy


• Improve the publics quality of life


• Curb legal immunity of trade union to call strikes


• Training for the unemployed


• Make the job market more flexible (part-time work)


• Minimise legal restrictions on creating new jobs


• Privatisation


• Cut business tax


• Lower income tax


• Lower tax on capital and savings


• Ecourage loval self help initiatives


• Increase nuclear power


• Develop the motorway


• Increase owndership of property


• Raise child benefit


• Build new hospitals


• Decrease state intervention


• Suppot independent schools


• Build more courtrooms to reduce time wasting


• Build more spaces in prisons


• Keep travel costs low


• Support NATO

1987 Manifesto:

• Keep inflation low


• Cut unemployment


• Increase ownership of properties


• Encourage savings


• Increase oppotunity to rent


• Increase share ownership of homes


• Privatise state industries


• Establish a national core cirriculum for schools


• Give governing bodies of schools control over their budgets


• Increase choice for schools with different varieties


• Suport independent education


• Expand higher education oppotunities


• Protect the rights of individual trade union members


• Reduce Gornverment borrowing


• Curb state spending


• Cut income tax


• Guarentee job training places for many


• Exert pressure on Japan to open up their markets


• Fight for free and fair international trade


• Build motorways


• Increase nuclear power for electricity


• Expand hospitals


• Reduce NHS waiting lists


• Encourage occupational pension schemes


• Benefits will depend on income after tax


• Build more prisons


• Tougher sentences


• Increase police numbers


• Tighten law on immigration


• Strengthen local government and accoutability


• Fixed rate charge for local services for all over 18s


• Support NATO


• Support Trident


• Suport a world wide ban on chemical weapons
  
  

1992 Manifesto:

• Suport intervention for peace-keeping


• Strengthen NATO


• Support ban on chemical weapons


• Increase Trident


• Keep inflation low


• Control public spending


• Reduce taxes


• Increase home ownership


• Privatisation


• Reduce tax on business


• Deregulation


• Create a more open Government


• Complete the national cirriculum


• Allow for a variety of schools


• Expand higher education oppotunities


• Continue to finace training programmes forthe unemployed


• Increase police numbers


• Tougher sentences


• Continue prison building programme


• Gurantee a waiting time for operations in hospitals


• Reduce waiting times


• Encourage personal pensions


• Introduce new disability benefits


• Continue motorway building


• Replace local commubnnity charge with council tax


• Raise the threshold for inheritance tax

1997 Manifesto:

• Low inflation


• Curb Government spending


• Reduce income tax


• Reduce unemployment


• Cut Coporation Tax


• Raise the threshold for inheritance tax


• Encourage personal pensions


• Set national targets for schools


• Support choice and diversity of types of schools


• Encourage self governence for schools


• Allow schools to select some pupils


• Encourage grammar schools


• Decrease waitingtimes in hospitals


• Against national minimum wage


• Increase home ownership


• Privatisation


• Install more CCTV


• Tougher sentences


• Decrease waiting time for court


• Regenerate housing estates for better quality


• Provide more hostel spaces


• Argue for a more flexible Europe


• Support NATO


• Open Government
  

Labour Manifestos

While I am waiting for people to return the questionnaires I have given out on what is right and left on the political spectrum I am going to start looking at each of the parties manifestos to see what changes were made over the years. I'm going to start with Labour and compare as many as the manifestos as possible in order to see how their policies have changed, if they have changed at all.

1979 Manifesto:

• Control inflation
  
• Regulation in industry
  
• Work with the trade unions
  
• Ensure public sector workers recieve wages in line with private sector workers
  
• Return to full employment
• Expand programmes of training & retraining in skills
• Conclude planning agreements with major private industry companies
• Government giving major aid to investment
• Expansion in housing, health service & education
• Longer holidays
  
• Earlier voluntary retirement
  
• Decentralized power - back to the individual & local authorities
• Devolution for Scotland
• Freedom of Information Bill to provide a system of open government
• abolish the delaying power and legislative veto of the House of Lords.
• Equality for women
  
• Industrial democracy
• Fight for disarmament
  
• Defeat world poverty
  
• Major programme of alternative energy and energy saving
• Defeat all tax evasion
• Introduce an Annual Wealth Tax
• Increase child benefit
  
• Reduce income tax
• Give more support to one parent families
• Protect a comprehensive national health service
• Abolish all charges in the NHS
• Universal comprehensive education
• Reduce class sizes
  

1983 Manifesto:

• Return to full employment - increase spending
• Introduce a minimum wage
• Control inflation
• Longer holidays
• Early voluntary retirement
• Programme for energy conservation
• Abolish all costs in the National Health Service
• Comprehensive nation health service
• Comprehensive education
• Reduce class sizes
• Expansion on housing
• Freedom of Information Bill to provide a system of open government
• Decentralisation of power to local authorities
• Devolution to Scotland
• Provide a major increase in public investment, including transport, housing and energy conservation.
• Halt the destruction of our social services and begin to rebuild them
• Increase investment in industry
• Introduce a crash programme of employment and training, with new job subsidies and allowances.
• Industrial democracy.
• Begin the return to public ownership of those public industries sold off by the Tories.
• Increase child benefit
  
• Increase pensions
  
• Spend more on education
  
• Begin to develop comprehensive care for the under-fives.
• Begin to develop a strategy to eliminate low pay
• Strengthen the Equal Pay Act and the Sex Discrimination Act.
• Improve child care and other social services
• Programme of house-building and improvement.
• Stop the waste of energy.
  
• Give more help to public transport, with funds to improve services, keep down fares, and increase investment
• Act to improve the environment and deal with pollution
  
• Introduce a positive action programme for the ethnic minorities.
  
• Abolish the legislative powers of the House of Lords.
• Cancel the Trident programme, refuse to deploy Cruise missiles and begin discussions for the removal of nuclear bases from Britain..
• Increase aid to developing countries towards the UN target of 0.7 per cent.
• Prepare for Britain's withdrawal from the EEC.

1987 Manifesto:

• Return to full employment
• Increase child benefit
• Introduce a national minimum wage
• A Freedom of Information Act for a more open Government
• Expansion of education, health, housing and the social services.
• Bring in a stronger regulatory framework to ensure honest practice in the City of London and introduce new safeguards on mergers, takeovers and monopolies to protect our national industrial, technological and research and development interests.
• Expand training for the unemployed
• Energy conservation programme
• Abolish all national health service charges
• Higher pensions
• Flexible cirriculum in schools
• Comprehensive tertiary system of post-school education.
• Build more housing
• Devolution for Scotland
• Decentralization of power to local authorities
• Democratic Industry - democratic participation in industry and trade unions
  
• Cancel trident and strengthen position in NATO
  

1992 Manifesto:

• Control inflation
• Increase child benefit
• Increase pensions
• Cut unemployment
  
• Build more housing
  
• More rights in the workplace
  
• Training oppotunities and experience for the unemployed
  
• Statutory minimum wage
  
• Comprhensive NHS
  
• Nursery education for 3 and 4 year olds
• Smaller classes
  
• Comprehensive tertiary system of post-school education.
• Invest in transport
• Strengthen regional economics
  

note the lack of mentioning the environment or trident. Further it doesn't mention getting rid of all costs within the NHS.

1997 Manifesto:

• Basic minimum rights for the individual in the workplace
• Cut class sizes in schools
• No increase to income tax rates
• Control inflation
• National minimum wage
• Tax cuts for employers who create jobs for the long term unemployed
• Cut costs in the NHS
• End the hereditary principle in the House of Lords
• Reform of party funding to end sleaze
• Devolved power in Scotland and Wales
• Elected mayors for London and other cities
• More independent but accountable local government
• Freedom of information and guaranteed human rights
• Referendum on single currency
• Lead reform of the EU
• Retain Trident: strong defence through NATO
• A reformed United Nations
• Helping to tackle global poverty
• Promote competition in the British market
  

Questionnaire

Over the Christmas holidays I researched all the different party manifestos from the key dates 1979, when Thatcher came into power and 1997, when Tony Blair came into power. I am aware that John Smith was expected to win the election previous to 1997 in 1992. Due to him not winning the election Blair made changes to the Labour manifesto in order to appeal to more people. Therefore, this will be an important date to compare. However, I will leave that to the first bit of my research plan and for this questionairre focus on the two dates or I will end up with it being too long.

The policies I went for were :

A1/C1/A5/C5 Controlling inflation

A1/A5 Privatisation

B5 Stronger regulation of business and industry

C5 National minimum wage

C1 Improve industrial relations

A1 Increase pay differentials

C5/B5 Reduce homelessness

C1 Return to full employment

A5/C5 Reform business rates to help small businesses

A1/A5 Increase home ownership

C5 Increase spending on patient care in the NHS

C5 End the internal market in the NHS

C5 Tough quality targets for hospitals

C1/C5 Training for the young and long term unemployed

A1 Raising the standards of children's education

B5 Support special needs education

C5/B5 Cut class sizes to 30 or under for 5, 6 and 7 year olds

B5 Improve adult education

A5 More freedom to schools to develop their own character

C5/B5 Increase spending on education

A5/B5/C5 Greater measures on school achievement

C1 Legislation to protect individual rights

C1/A5 Equality for men/women

C1 Equality for minority groups

A1/A5 Reduce the number of people on benefits

A1 Control the powers of trade unions

C1 Sustain democracy in the workplace

B1 Parliamentary reform for an open, accountable Government

C5 End the hereditary principle in the House of Lords

A1 To uphold Parliament and the rule of law

C5 Ban all handguns

B5 More police officers

A5 Further punishment for juvenile offenders

C5 Half the time it takes for juvenile offenders to get to court

B1/C1/C5 Devolution of powers in the UK to a local level

C5 Devolved powers to Scotland and Wales

B1 Electoral reform for representive Government

A1 To strengthen Britain's defences

C1 Disarmament of the UK

C5 Strong defence through NATO

C1 Foreign aid to alleviate poverty

A5 Argue for a more flexible Europe

C1 Closer EU unity

A5 Tighter standards on vehicle emissions

C5 Environmental sustainability

B5 Tackle media power concentration

A = Conservatives 1 = 1979 elections
B = Liberal Democrats 2 = 1997 elections
C = Labour

I have put these on the side so that when I come to looking at the response from people when I come to looking at part 1 of my research plan: proving that their policies have changed, I can use this as some evidence towards whether it has or not.

However, for this part of my research the questionnaire will be purely to see what people regard as left and right so that my own political ideas don't sway it and it is fair. When putting together the questionnairre for people I will take away the numbers and letters so that they do not try and analyse them and guess what they mean, as this may affect how they answer it. I will put a scale at the top asking them where they would mark themselves on the left and right scale politically. Then, when they have filled out the questionnairre, for example if they thought themselves to be left, I would put a line down the middle of their responses and that would be what was central to them. Next to each policy there will be a scale will 15 points on. A scale with 10 means they may lean towards a specific number a lot and so a 15 point scale will mean they don't pay so much attention to that either.

Further, the top of the questionnairre will explain what the questionnaire is and what it is for, that it is confidential and instructions on how to fill it out.

My spectrum

I've spoken to my politics lecturer about what spectrum I should use when addressing my question. He advised that I do one that looks specifically at my area of interest which is the parties attitude to social policy. Therefore, I have decided to go with a two point spectrum as seen in my last piece of research. This means I will be able to look at the question with a broader view.

The spectrum I have decided on is the vertical axis being athoritarian at the top and libertarian at the bottom and the horizontal axis being interventional in the publics social life on the left and non-interventional in the publics social life on the right. This my lecturer would suggest would work as left wing parties would traditionally intervene in order to bring up the minimum standard of living of the public. This works with conservatives and doesn't come up with the problem Robert Leach finds with the scale revolutionary and reactionary as one nation tories would intervene more in the publics social life than a Tory such as Thatcher. This is shown with Disraeli, a one nation Tory, saying "power has only one duty - to secure the social welfare of the people." (http://www.searchquotes.com/quotation/Power_has_only_one_duty_-_to_secure_the_social_welfare_of_the_People./152235/

In order to decide the measuring points on my scale Felix has suggested that I get manifestos from different parties and then get people with different politucal views to mark whether they think that is left or right way of thinking. When this is done I will see what is the most common left, right and central. This will mean my ideas won't sway how I measure the parties on the scale and will give a more accurate picture of where the parties are on the scale.

Another view of the spectrum

http://www.politicalcompass.org/ukparties2010

UK Parties 2010 General Election

Firstly, a few words about popular political terms (in case you haven't read the rest of our website).

Once you accept that left and right are merely measures of economic position, the extreme right refers to extremely liberal economics that may be practised by social authoritarians or social libertarians.

Similarly, the extreme left identifies a strong degree of state economic c

ontrol, which may also be accompanied by liberal or authoritarian social policies. It's muddled thinking to simply describe the likes of the British National Party as "extreme right". The truth is that on issues like health, transport, housing, protectionism and globalisation, their economics are left of Labour, let alone the Conservatives. It's in areas like police power, military power, school discipline, law and order, race and nationalism that the BNP's real extremism - as authoritarians - is clear. It's easy to see how the term national socialism came into being. The uncomfortable reality is that much of their support comes from f

ormer Labour voters.

This mirrors France's National Front. In running some local governments, they reinstated certain welfare measures which their Socialist predecessors had abandoned. Like similar authoritarian parties that have sprung up around Europe, they have come to be seen in some quarters as champions of the underdog, as long as the underdog isn't Black, Arab, gay or Jewish ! With mainstream Social Democratic parties adopting - reluctantly or enthusiastically - the new economic libertarian orthodoxy (neo-liberalism), much o

f their old economic baggage has been pinched by National Socialism. Election debates between mainstream parties are increasingly about managerial competence rather than any clash of vision and fundamental difference in economic direction.

The UK Independence Party might be described as BNP Lite, with a more well-heeled social base of generally older hardline Tories unhappy with their former party's drift in a more socially liberal, Europe-friendly direction. Like the BNP, UKI

P is sympathetic to the reintroduction of capital punishment. UKIP's economics, however, are well to the right.

The socially liberal Greens by strong contrast, have shifted from the single-issue tendency of their formative years and sprouted a comprehensive left manifesto, appealing to a diametrically different kind of disenchanted Labour voter: stro

ng on civil liberties, social justice, prison reform and the welfare state; passionately opposed to unfettered market forces, foreign invasions and all things nuclear.

This time around the somewhat mercurial Liberal Democrats look like Green Lite beside the Labour and Conservative parties. Their economic pitch is left of Labour's, with their Treasury spokesman hitting a recent Guardian front page he

adline Cable attacks 'nauseating businessmen'. One imagines, though, that he must have worked with a few of them in his previous job as Shell's chief economist. The LibDems maintain considerable distance from both the main parties on the social scale, with a rehabilitative approach to crime, a far greater concern for civil liberties ie curbs on CCTV, expansion of the Freedom of Information Act and the reduction of pre-charge detention to a maximum of 14 days. The only one of the big three parties to ha

ve opposed the invasion of Iraq, the LibDems have been astonishingly coy about where they stand on the UK's Trident nuclear arsenal. Their candidates somewhat self-consciously rattle off Trident as one of many expenditures that should be looked at in these difficult economic times. Presumably afraid of being labelled soft on defence, the LibDems haven't dared to argue robustly against Britain's "independent deterrent", which is actually linked to the US nuclear command system. Labour and the Conservatives are committed

to its replacement at a cost of a more than £80 billion, including maintenance and running expenditure. Given that an impressive group of senior military officers deemed Trident "irrelevant" in a letter to The Times on 16 January 2009, the LibDems have missed a chance to do the public and the party a favour by giving the issue real prominence. Labour and the Conservatives won't, since they are in agreement on this colossal expenditure.

With its commitment to scrap ID cards and the National Identity Register, reduce pre-charge detention to 28 days and other civil libertarian concerns, the Conservative Party seems willing to accept some haemorrhage of support from the old tweed and twinset guard. As they shuffle off to UKIP, the often tieless David Cameron can appeal to more socially liberal voters with an appetite for the full-throttle neoliberal economic policies that would inevitably follow their election. The new "progressive" Tory party, as revealed in a recent Financial Times survey, remains one with a large number of climate change deniers. Despite recent history, most in the party are opposed to all but the lightest fiscal regulation, and don't want to see any cap at all on corporate bonuses.

There's considerable truth in the assertion that it's easier to be socially liberal in opposition than in office. Nevertheless Labour - or is it still New Labour? - has moved markedly towards a more authoritarian position than the circumstances justify. Along with the indefinite retention of DNA profiles of people arrested but not convicted and the 42-day pre-charge detention, the party also continues to champion ID cards, an identity database and much else that has upset civil libertarians. While fiscally there are hints that the party is now reaching back to its core values, under Blair and Brown Labour has gone to extraordinary lengths to privatise the economy and nationalise the public.

What post-1980s elections demonstrate is passionate debate - but only within constantly narrowing parameters. The big clashes of vision are regrettably absent. Economic power has transcended political power, to the detriment of democracy. Between the big three, there's no ideological argument about whether the prevailing economic orthodoxy is best for Britain, but simply which of them can make market forces work best. Afghanistan might be mentioned, but only in terms of funding: not whether the UK should be there. Climate change crops up, but not whether a deregulated growth economy is compatible with the ecological imperative. Saving the NHS is an important campaign issue, but not the fundamental question of whether public funds should be turned into private profit. The "big issues" are things like the national insurance rise which, as The Observer's economics editor has pointed out, would cost M&S only two thirds of what the company shelled out for its new chief executive's hello package.

Underlining the absence of substantial differences on the economic scale in particular, the public – and even the commentators – refer more than ever before to the three main leaders rather than to their parties. We know more about their personal lives; less about concrete policy. The tv debates, as welcome as they might be on some levels, have helped bring about a more presidential approach to politics. A presidential political campaign tends to highlight the style of the candidates rather than the substance of their policies. It's a handy diversion in the absence of profound ideological distinctions.

How The Parties Have Shifted

The political spectrum

In order to start looking at whether or not political ideologies within the three main parties has changed (point 1 in my plan of research) I've decided that firstly I'm goingto have to define the politcal spectrum. This will allow me to place them on there at a beginning point and then see how they have changed.





I have found a useful book for this: Robert Leach, Political ideology in Britain (Palgrave Macmillan; 2nd Edition edition 2009), 10 - 11


These pages go into how to class ideologies on a spectrum of left and right. It also gives different ideas of spectrums. I will consider all these ideas and then search for some more to back them up and then decide which one I believe to be most relevant to the UK to use in my report.

It tells me how it is the "oldest ways of classifying ideologies" which comes from the "French Revolution, where the most revolutionary groups sat on the left and the more conservative or reactionary groups sat on the left". This is where the idea of the first scale comes from; Revolutionary groups being left and reaction groups being right. However, if we look at Lenin in Russia, The Bolsheviks continued to be regarded as left after they siezed power and established a new social and politcal system. This problem can also be seen with the radical right. "almost a contradiction in terms if the 'right' means opposition to change". Margaret Thatcher changed much in the UK, but she was considred further to the right than the 'One Nation' Conservatives within her party. Therefore, in modern terms I do not believe this scale can be used as it is not accurate within modern politics.

Another way it gives for interpreting the left-right scale is "in terms of attitudes to authority". Those who believe in individual liberty are on the left and those wanting discipline and order are on the right. This, as Robert Leach points out, also has its problems. Anarchists and communists are regarded as left and yet they have very different ideas on authority. Totalitarianism in the post-war period implied noth communism and facism which would usually both be at opposite ends of the scale. Therefore, again this spectrum does not work.

The spectrum can also be defined in terms of attitudes towards state intervention in the economy. Left would be ossociated with collectivism and right with the free market. This Robert Leach believes to be the most effective spectrum. he says it "is consistant with the description of communists and socialist as 'left' regardless of whether they constituted the establishment or the opposition, and also consistant with the common designation of free market Conservatives as more 'right wing' than the more interventionist 'One Nation' Conservatives." However, again he points out its flaws: "Fascism, commonly placed on the far right, favoured protection and substantial state direction rather than the free market."

These ideas will contribute to section 1 of my research plan as well as section 3. This is just one view and so I will collect together a few more before I decide on what politcal scale is most relevent to my report.