Britain's ruling Labour Party, trailing in the polls before a May 6 election, sought to regain the initiative on Monday with plans to support the economic recovery and raise the bar for corporate takeovers. Unveiling Labour's platform for what would be an unprecedented fourth consecutive term in office, Prime Minister Gordon Brown acknowledged that his party was in the fight of its life against the opposition Conservatives.
He set out plans for reforms to make public services more efficient at a time when the need to rein in a gaping budget deficit means there is little room for increases in spending. Poorly-performing schools, hospitals and even police forces could be taken over by more efficient peers.
"Today I lay before you a radical and realistic plan for Britain that starts with securing the recovery and renews Britain as a fairer, greener, more accountable and more prosperous country," Brown told supporters at a gleaming new 545 million pound hospital in Birmingham, central England.
Labour's manifesto said the party would not jeopardise a fragile economic recovery after the worst recession since World War Two with "reckless cuts to public spending this year". Labour is locked in a battle with the Conservatives over how fast and how deep to reduce a budget deficit forecast to exceed 11 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this fiscal year.
It is committed to halving the deficit over the next four years but says more aggressive reduction plans by the Conservatives could jeopardise the recovery. The Conservatives are ahead in the polls but not by enough to be sure of an overall majority in parliament. Investors fear a "hung parliament" would make decisive action to tackle the deficit less likely.
Labour's manifesto showed how much the global financial crisis has changed the political landscape in Britain. During its 13 years in office, Britain has been wide open to foreign takeovers of its companies. But the manifesto called for reform, saying two-thirds of shareholders should have to back a take-over in future, instead of just a majority.
Labour pledged to force banks to hold more capital and to break up state-owned banks. The Financial Services Authority watchdog could be given new powers to quash executive pay if it encouraged excessive risk-taking, the manifesto said. The manifesto said Labour would not raise basic or higher rates of income tax nor extend the reach of Value Added Tax (VAT) sales tax.
Brown did not give a cast-iron guarantee that Labour would not raise the rate of VAT, currently 17.5 percent, but said the party's deficit-cutting plans did not call for a rise in VAT. The Conservatives accused Labour of exploiting the state-run National Health Service by using a new hospital as the backdrop for its manifesto launch.
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