Reddit reviews Mind the Gap: The New Class Divide in Britain

>Last I checked the Unions were rather unhappy with the Labour party..

The Warwick 1, and Warwick 2 agreements appear to have been pretty explicit cash for regulation agreements.

>entirely likely that the Conservatives will push for further privatisation

I think any assets the British state still owns are already being prepped for sale. Ordinance Survey, the Met Office, the Forestry Commission, the Tote etc.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/secret-nuclear-selloff-storm-1204979.html

HMG gov't is bankrupt, they've got the cushions off the sofa, and they're looking for old coins. :(

>a reduction is state services,

Again, HMG is broke. Debt interest payments are going to be a significant feature of the budget for the next decade if not longer.

I seem to remember hearing Mr Purnell saying something along the lines of 'the state must do fewer things, better'.

>a reduction in taxation

Nice thought, I suspect taxation will be increasing, whoever is in gov't.

>a return to policies that promote certain social outcomes

In his conference speech, Mr Cameron said:

>For me, the most important word is responsibility. Personal responsibility. Professional responsibility. Civic responsibility. Corporate responsibility. Our responsibility to our family, to our neighbourhood, our country. Our responsibility to behave in a decent and civilised way. To help others. That is what this Party is all about. Every big decision; every big judgment I make: I ask myself some simple questions. Does this encourage responsibility and discourage irresponsibility? Does this make us a more or less responsible society? Social responsibility, not state control. Because we know that we will only be a strong society if we are a responsible society.

So here, I think you are on the right lines, but I'm not sure you wouldn't like the direction of travel.

In Mind the Gap Ferdinand Mount looked at twentieth century British history, under governments of different stripes, as a class war. A middle-class attack on the institutions of working class society. I think he makes a strong case.

Mr Cameron often talks about 'giving people more power, and control, over their lives'. No doubt that phrase has been focus-grouped to death, but the principle, and the outcome, should be one that left/right wing people can support, because it's about less diktat from Westminster, from bureaucrats, and I don't see that left-wing politics has to be statist.

>relaxation of regulation on businesses (especially with regard to consumer protection)

I think most of this comes from Brussels now. But I'd be all in favour of less box-ticking myself.

>continued moves toward the US,

Every British gov't since WW1 has sucked up to the USA. I don't see that changing whoever wins the next election. We may see them start to suck up to the Indian gov't as well, they seem to be the coming power with whom we have the strongest ties.

>placing economic considerations above environmental issues

Now I fear a Conservative gov't would be prioritising the environment over the economy. One of us must be wrong :)