To what extent have the ideas and the policies of the Conservative and the Labour parties overlapped in recent years?

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis the two parties became more polarised in how to limit the damage caused. The differences of the parties were accentuated especially in the 2010 election where each party outlined how they would deal with the crisis. On one side the Conservative decided they would tackle the problem with a small government approach. This meant that they believed that the government should step back from problems and not intervene as much, having a laissez faire attitude. On the other hand labour believed in a big government approach, where the government should intervene for example by buying stakes in the banks (effectively partial nationalisation) and regulating the financial market. The two parties also disagreed on the speed of cutting the deficit, the Conservatives claimed in there manifesto that they would call an emergency budget in 50 days of coming into power, with £60bn worth of cuts. This was a clear signal that they completely disagreed with the current Labour government which was in power at the time, who believed that the cuts should be made much more slowly. Gordon Brown had said that they should continue spending at these record levels until 2011 and then cut the deficit over a longer period of time.  

In the 2010 manifesto the two parties were similar on a number of other issues. Both parties both believed that the deficit was a problem and needed to be cut. They believed that much of the problem of the recession was that the country had crippling levels of debt. Furthermore this debt was being increased year on year with the Labour government posting record deficits. However this was not so much that the Conservatives and Labour party’s ideology so much overlapped in recent years but more that this was the general consensus at the time. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis every single major political party across Europe was looking at the state of their respective fiscal policies and addressing deficits. Deficits were seen as bad and it would be political suicide to suggest the opposite. They also both agreed on banker bashing as pretty much every party did by taxing bonuses and financial transactions. Again there was a general consensus in the country that those who created the problem must pay, it was not so much a divisive issue where both parties go the same way. In divisive issues both parties did agree that there should be a sustained effort in the war in Afghanistan and also to renew trident. This is something that the Labour Party in 1980 would have disagreed with who were firmly pacifists, it seems that the Labour party has stepped away from that typically left wing view.

Since the coalition was formed in 2010 the differences between the two parties have again become highlighted. They both have different approaches to the economy from 2010 onwards. The Conservatives have in fact been slow to regulate banks to the dismay of the Labour Party. It is proof to them that the Conservatives are still a party for the rich, to protect the rich. This is further backed by the fact that the coalition have abolished the 50p tax rate for high earners which Miliband described as a ‘millionaires cut’. The Labour Party are very critical of this as they believe that the deficit should be cut by letting the people at the top pay high rates of tax that those at the bottom cannot.  It further reinforces the idea that the Labour Party are a worker’s party and the Conservative Party are the business owners party, the economy has polarised the two.

There are a number of other issues that the two parties have disagreed with since 2010 other than the economy. The Conservatives have been keen to put forward there idea of the big society forward with schools being run by parents and elected crime commissioners.  The Labour Party have fervently criticised these moves saying that the local government should ultimately run schools and crime was at a record low anyway. The new education minister, Michael Gove pledged to have compulsory education extended to 18 with certain core subjects being made mandatory as well. Labour believed that those 16-18 year olds should be offered technological baccalaureates to prepare them for working life with a practical, competitive qualification. They have also criticised Cameron’s claim to scrap the human rights act, Theresa May has described the act as shackles to the home office. This would suggest a more independent, nationalistic approach that the Conservative Party wishes to have where they have complete sovereignty over what they do. Labour whole heartedly disagree on this issue believing that the act is a force for good. There is a similar issue with regards to the E.U where the conservative party have decided to become more and more polarised by not signing the fiscal compact. Miliband was critical saying that the move would ‘relegate Britain to the side-lines’, this would indicate that Miliband is for a less nationalistic country that is more in tune to left wing ideology.

Since Cameron and Miliband have been sparring with each other since 2010 they have agreed on a number of issues. The two leaders have agreed on a reduction on immigration, both have been critical of the ‘open doors’ that Blair had into the country in his power. Both parties want to appeal to those who believe that the high number of immigrants was somehow eroding national identity and also making jobs more competitive and therefore harder to get.

In conclusion the Conservative Party and Labour Party have become more similar but as a result of the 2008 financial crisis the two have drifted away from each other. Leadership under Blair and Cameron of their respective parties have been similar in their neo-liberal approach however Miliband especially has somewhat dragged his party towards the left providing a clear distinction between the two parties in most areas of policy. This has been accompanied by an edging to the right by Cameron in his tenure as prime minister which has shown him (and the party) to become more similar to Thatcher, the very person he disowned. I would however expect Ed Miliband to not disagree outright as he does on nearly every Tory bill leading up to the 2014 election, it will be interesting to see in the parties manifestos how distant they really are.