Word: labour
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Many of the Britons mourning Michael Foot, who died March 3 at 96, did not vote Labour when he led the party. Some had not yet reached voting age when he (right, with his wife, the author and filmmaker Jill Craigie) helmed the party's 1983 parliamentary campaign. Some had not yet been born. And a thumping majority of those who were eligible to vote chose to retain Margaret Thatcher as prime minister, after Britain's 1982 Falklands-war victory burnished her popularity...
Foot, though a sparkling orator with a brilliant intellect, did his part to contribute to Labour's defeat, pushing a left-wing manifesto that pledged unilateral nuclear disarmament and nationalization of the banks. It was dubbed by a colleague "the longest suicide note in history." The 2008 global financial crisis would finally force a partial implementation of the second policy, but Foot's legacy cannot be measured in concrete achievements such as laws or processes. His was the very British triumph of the underdog, of the nice guy who came in last and in so doing retained his principles...
...Linda McAvan, a member of the European Parliament from Britain's Labour Party and a supporter of the color-coded food labels, echoes that sentiment. "There is evidence that consumer pressure generated through the traffic-light scheme can lead to product reformulation by retailers," she says. "One major retailer told me how their least healthy sandwich range was phased out when labeling was introduced, as people stopped buying the high-fat and -salt options." (See "Cutting Salt Can Have Big Health Benefits...
Then what? A 1977 Lib-Lab pact to shore up a minority Labour government proved short-lived. The Lib Dems will only agree such a course again in return for very significant pledges. Clegg resists all speculation about possible deals. If there's a hung parliament "of course we'll work out a stable government," he says. "What people are entitled to ask is what are the things you will push for in whatever situation you find yourself?" (Read: "David Cameron: UK's Next Leader...
...through party offices, and the answers will then be discussed on television and radio in each of the three countries. A week before the U.K. vote, Egality will hold an American Idol-style election in the countries, in which people will cast votes for their preferred U.K. party - Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat. The following week, British citizens who decide to participate in the program - organizers are hoping for a few thousand - will receive a text message from Egality telling them how to cast their ballot. The votes will be doled out based on the proportion each party received...