The Public Attitude to Politics

Politicians in Britain do not have a good reputation. To describe someone who is not a professional politician as 'a politician’ is to criticize him or her, suggesting a lack of trustworthiness. It is not that people hete their politicians. They just regard them with a high degree of suspicion. They do not expect them to be corrupt or to use their position to amass personal wealth, but they do expect them to be frequently dishonest. People are not really shocked when the government is caught lying. On the other hand, they would be very shocked indeed if it was discovered that the government was doing anything illegal. (‘Spitting Image’ was an example of television satire. It was a programme, which showed puppets of. well-known public figures speaking in fictional situation in order to make fun of them. The ‘Spitting Image' format was copied in other European countries.)

As a result of the electoral system two parties have usually been predominant in Britain, at different times Tories and Whigs, Conservatives and Liberals, and since the 1930s Conservatives and Labour, with one party normally obtaining a majority of seats in the House of Commons and the other having its role limited to criticizing Government policy.

The Labour Party

The Labour party was formed at the beginning of the 20^thcentury from an alliance of trade unionists and intellectuals. It formed the first government in 1923. It can be considered as left of the center. Traditionally it stands for equality, for the weaker people in society, and for more government involvement in the economy. It is concerned to provide full social services and that is why tends to increase income tax.

After so many years in opposition the landslide victory in 1997 by the Labour Party was so overwhelming that it shocked everyone, Including Labour and its leader, Tony Blair. Mr. Blair managed to reform the Labour Party’s image and structure. Unofficially he renamed it “New Labour”. Why ‘new’? Originally formed as Party that gives much real power to trade unions and ordinary members including working class the Party was committed to socialist policies like planned economy and nationalization. When Labour came to power in 1945 they on the one hand nationalized the railways, the coal, steel shipbuilding, gas and electricity industries. On the other hand, they introduced the welfare itate: insurance against unemployment, sickness and old age, a weekly benefit for minimum needs, and free medical health care for everyone.

The middle class of Great Britain that makes up the majority of the electorate always treated this Labour tendency to plannee economy and nationalization with cautiop. The new policy of Labour implied no radical change (and it appealed to the British middle class.) What Labour wanted was to improve education, to give more independence to Sd'otland and Wales and reform the election system.

Labour threw off some of its less popular traditional characteristics. It tried to dispel the idea that it intended to return to the nationalization of major industries, more use of market forces and less central control. In addition, although traditionally suspicious of Britain’s membership of the European Community, from 1987 Labour openly supported full participation as essential to the country’s political and economic future.

The Labour Party was last in government between 1997 and 2010 under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, beginning with a majority of 179, reduced to 167 in 2001 and 66 in 2005. Having won 258 seats in the 2010 general election, Labour is the Official Opposition.