Ideologically, Labour believe in higher taxes, high spending on public services and large amounts of welfare state provision. Whilst the Conservative party believe in lower taxes, David Cameron’s government have not been able to adopt lower taxation as a policy – partly due to Liberal Democrat pressure within the coalition, and partly because of the current economic crisis. Many Conservatives are ideologically opposed to the National Health Service, and in 2011 they introduced a bill that made it easier for private companies to provide NHS services.
Labour take a more liberal stance on Law and Order than the Conservative party, who under David Cameron have adopted a Paternalistic approach. Labour’s approach to crime is less punitive, with more focus on rehabilitation and tackling the causes of crime. At the beginning of his term David Cameron’s approach was more similar to this, but since civil unrest and the riots of the summer of 2011, he has adjusted his policies and become tougher.
One area where the parties differ dramatically is in their attitudes to the Welfare State. Labour consider the welfare state to be an essential mechanism for the redistribution of wealth and a great equaliser of opportunities. Conservatives consider the Welfare State dangerous, believing it creates a dependency culture and that taxpayers should not support the ‘undeserving poor’, who they believe are in that situation through idleness and fecklessness. This opinion is at least partially derived from traditional Conservatism’s pessimistic view of human nature. Whilst the coalition has not cut work-related benefits, in November 2012 they announced that they would not rise in line with inflation for the next three years. They have increased schemes designed to reduce what they consider to be a ‘something for nothing’ culture - such as the oft criticised ‘workfare’ which sees jobseekers forced to work for their benefits.
There are some smaller issues where the two parties are in consensus, such as the environment. Both parties have publicly state that there is a need to move towards renewable energy sources and to cut carbon emissions.
Despite these small areas of agreement, on most issues the parties have a fundamental disagreement in ideology - this manifests itself in their policies.
by
cem1991 (student)
