Certainty takes a battering from Labour
Political certainties appear to have been reversed or at least thrown into confusion through the transformation of the unelectable Labour Party into what its leader Tony Blair calls New Labour.
While historically and simplistically the Tories have always been seen as the party of the upper and middle classes and businessmen, Prime Minister John Major is now making much of his own poor upbringing on the run down streets of inner London's Brixton area compared with the public school middle-class background of Mr Blair.
The Tories are even pitching their appeal at what they call the 'hardworking classes' in a desperate attempt to fight off Labour's move to the centre.
Whereas just five years ago it was easy to use the conventional left-right model of politics to describe the parties from Labour, through the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives, that model no longer works properly.
The Liberal Democrats may still appeal more to some in the middle classes than Mr Blair's New Labour but in terms of defence, taxation and public spending they are now perceived as well to the left of that party.
The result could mean that the Liberal Democrats, who at local government level control more local authorities than the Conservatives, will be reduced to just a handful from their current 26 MPs.
Their one hope is that the current Labour lead will drop to such a point that they can hold sway in a hung parliament where there is no overall majority and win the concession they have called for over decades, proportional representation.
Much of the move in Labour's direction reflects the views of many that after 17 years of Tory rule it is time for a change anyway.
The Tories charge that Labour has really only stolen its clothes.
Labour says it will be tough on government spending and borrowing, ensure low inflation and strengthen the economy. There's not much difference to the Tories on that - except that Labour has found it harder to win the trust of businessmen and the City, forcing Mr Blair and his shadow chancellor, Gordon Brown, to make repeated visits to those it would traditionally have avoided.
In previous election campaigns Labour promised to nationalise industries which had been privatised by the Tories and abolish Britain's nuclear deterrent, and made no secret that it would raise taxes across the board.
By contrast its current stated policies are modest. It says it will cut class sizes to 30 for five to seven-year-olds. It says it will get 250,000 under 25-year-olds off benefits and into work through tax rebates on new employers. The party believes this could cost the UK GBP900 million (HK$10.94 billion) in the first year but that the cost will fall to nothing after five years as the number of unemployable youngsters on benefits drops.
It claims it will cut National Health Service waiting lists by treating an extra 100,000 patients a year - with the cost met by 'cutting red tape' by GBP100 million a year. It would also bring in fast track punishment for persistent young offenders, shortening the time between arrest and sentencing in youth courts.
