By Harry Sloan

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together again' , and listen to 'ordinary people'.

They are even prepared to see some good in the period of Tory government: 'Britain needed a shake-up' ' they assure us, 'But the government government and people has not succeeded. ... The last four years could now be forgiven if we had a springboard for the ing each others' rights and future. We do not.' others' виссева The reason of course is that the Tories - representing big business and the bankers - are not as nice and cosy as the Alliance and its well upholstered clientele of managers, lecturers, administrators and small up their workforce, closing down business people.

Our whole approach is based profit, and living off the sweated labour of other 'free people' tions to reform existing institutions: but predictably there are no plans to do anything about the power, wealth and privilege of the ruling class.

Indeed while the Alliance repeatedly bemoans the 'classon co-operation: not just be- based' politics of the Tory and tween our parties but between Labour Parties, its own promanagement and workers, gramme puts forward proposals between people of different to shackle only one class - and, races and above all between surprise, surprise, it's the working class!

The vision which unites us is of Mind you, they do it from a nation of free people working terribly nice and civilised motogether in harmony, respect- tives, 'not in any spirit of union bashing'. But central to freedoms and sharing in each their plans are new anti-union laws to enforce The only problem which the • compulsory secret ballots, Alliance would lull us into for- normally on a postal basis, for getting is that some of these the election of the national 'free people' are stinking rich executives of unions and where employers, ruthlessly speeding appropriate General Secretaries' plants at will in pursuit of The right of a tiny section -about 10% - of the relevant bargaining unit to require a ballot before an official strike can be called. •Encourage arbitration -including laws to force public. sector unions to go to arbitration before taking strike action. •Changing the law to force mechanisms like a 'counterinflation tax' on firms who pay over the odds), and you can see that they are not offering much to people like you and me.

This should be no surprise: after all, the Alliance makes no bones about the fact that We believe in enterprise and profit and in sharing the fruits of these'.

Most of the followers would agree with at least the first part of that statement, and also agree that the 'moderate and well directed stimulus to the economy' which the Alliance promises should. 'unlike the Labour Party' be done 'in a way which encouraged private business.' After all, there's no use being nice and civilised if you're as badly off as the really ordinary people, is there?

Foster

In contrast to the moves against the unions, there are plans to foster the growth of new and small businesses - and a whole page of proposals aimed at throwing up a plethora of well-paid quangos, managerial consultancies and 'admin jobs drug monopolies is to be curbed but not halted by stopping excessive prescribing •of branded drugs; and private medicine and private education are to remain untouched by these great egalitarians.

Shouldn't 'ordinary people' who want to jump hospital waiting lists or send their sons to Eton have the right to do so?

The middle class ideal of house ownership is to be further promoted at the expense of existing council estates where the Alliance would maintain the Tory 'right to buy'.

And the sacred cow of animal welfare is given an insipid bale of hay from the back of the Alliance Volvo, with the promise to 'establish an advisory standing commission on animal welfare' which should offer a few people a free lunch and expenses cheque occasionally.

On nuclear weapons, the Alliance steers niftily clear of the Liberal Conference policy of outright opposition to Cruise missiles, but calls for the cancellation of Trident.

David Owen - one of the last friends the Shah or Iran could count on - and veteran cold order to form a governme parties ... will need to comma the support of about half t voters.

jiven the immense matel saavantares unaer which 1 labour movement operates capitalist society, the Allian are justifiably confident that majority Labour governme under such conditions would! highly 'unlikely. What wou dominate would be more less 'civilised' combinations the Alliance with the Tories.

This - if the brutal impact Labour of the recent bounda commission changes were i enough to make the point should at least serve to remi workers of the limitations the existing democracy and ti extent to which they must la not to the Parliamentary setbut to their own class organis tions to defend and fight f their interests.

The 'nice people' of t Alliance can certainly not l be looked to as friends in nee Inside the fur coats and spor jackets are the sharpent knives of a far from liber middle class anxious above i all to get at the throats of tl

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