THE PRESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1987. June election in Britain

Press, 13 May 1987, Page 20

THE PRESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1987. June election in Britain

The Conservatives did better than expected in the local elections in Britain on May 7. The Conservatives usually fare better in national elections than they do in local elections. The Alliance, which consists of the Social Democratic Party and the Liberals, made gains at the expense of Labour, not of the Conservatives. Small wonder then, when other signs are looking good for the Conservatives, that Mrs Thatcher has decided that the time is right for her to make her bid to become the longest-serving Prime Minister in Britain this century. She dislikes long campaigns. The date that she has chosen, June 11, will allow only three weeks for the major campaign after the Parliamentary session ends. The tragedy of Britain is that there is an 11 per cent unemployment rate, which in some areas goes very much higher. However, unemployment has been falling and might drop below three million in June. With unemployment so high it might have been imagined that the ground would have been prepared for the caring society that Mr Kinnock, the Labour leader, would like to implement. However, those in work do not necessarily have the welfare of those out of work uppermost in their minds. Mr Kinnock wants to take back a tax cut and use the

money to create jobs. Fighting a campaign on withdrawing a tax cut will be hard. It will take a great deal of Mr Kinnock’s admittedly extensive good humour and self-confidence to persuade British voters that these measures will make a better Britain. If re-elected Mrs Thatcher will move further down the road to privatisation with an almost religious zeal. She can claim that the economic policies that she has imposed have worked and that Britain is enjoying the rewards of harsh but necessary economic measures. And internationally her dealings with President Reagan and with Mr, Gorbachev have lifted her standing. The Alliance hopes to take more votes than Labour. If the Alliance has influence after the election — it will have influence if one of the other parties has to form a coalition with it — it will want more job creation and wealth redistribution. This election, more than any other, will demonstrate whether the British voter sees the Alliance as the alternative to Thatcherism. If Labour loses — and especially if it loses considerable support to the Alliance — the effect on the future of British politics will be profound. The balance of power will be realigned.