Word: labour
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...will shrivel and give way to a second, deeper contraction. Britons are downcast, their politicians discredited. In one of the world's oldest democracies, there's little enthusiasm for the national and local elections due in early May. Polls show that neither of the two largest parties - the Labour incumbents or their Conservative challengers - is on course for an overall majority in Parliament. There's little enthusiasm, either, for their respective leaders, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and David Cameron...
...first time since the 1970s, Britons may find themselves ruled by a minority government. Back then, Labour's pact with the smaller Liberal Party proved short-lived, and the government eventually fell to a no-confidence motion. Britain's third party now has a longer name - the Liberal Democrats - and hopes to exert a more enduring influence on any new administration. Smaller parties will flex their muscles if there's a hung Parliament. This raises the specter of political instability, gridlock and even a second general election within the year. Such an outcome could only exacerbate the economic turbulence that...
...identified themselves as "white - British." There's been a big influx of nonwhite families since then, with many blacks and Asians - British-born as well as new immigrants - looking for cheap housing. "There's a sense of competition for finite resources," says Jon Cruddas, Dagenham's MP and a Labour Party member. "These are generic forces, but they collide in an intense form here." (See pictures of 20th Century Britain...
...racial tensions suit the politics of the BNP, which controls 12 of 51 local council seats, making it the second largest party after Labour. There are concerns it will grow even stronger after the May 6 council elections. And national BNP leader Nick Griffin is campaigning to unseat Barking's veteran Labour MP, Margaret Hodge. Griffin, once convicted of inciting racial hatred, has pledged to represent "the interests of our people instead of all sorts of others and all sorts of greedy banks who ponce on [freeload off] every council in the country...
...hard to remember now, but Labour rose to power in 1997 on a wave of optimism, even idealism. "A new dawn has broken, has it not?" said the fresh-faced Prime Minister Tony Blair, greeting the sunrise of his victory. Now 73% of Britons distrust politicians, according to a recent report by the Hansard Society. For many, the last straw was the revelation last year that MPs from all parties had taken advantage of a loose expenses regimen to subsidize their pay, some of them charging taxpayers for such essentials as moat cleaning, duck houses and sparkly toilet seats. Charisse...