The Conservatives' attempt to rebrand shows the scale of their deplorability-and their desparation

It has been reported that Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps, MP for Welwyn Hatfield (the seat I hope to contest in 2015), has seriously considered the request of Conservative MP Robert Halfon, who represents Harlow and unlike most Conservative MPs has skilled working-class roots, to rebrand the Conservative Party as the 'Worker's Party' to try and de-toxify its privileged image, and to replace its oak tree logo with a ladder.

To give you an idea of how hypocritic and disgraceful this rebranding attempt is, here are many examples of the damage the Conservative Party, helped by the treacherous Liberal Democrats, is doing to workers in the UK.

For example, they have throughout 2010-14:

-cut legal aid for employment cases completely,and many other things for that matter
-required people to pay excessive upfront charges to employment tribunals, which will be higher in unfair dismissal cases. Many working people cannot afford these new upfront charges.
-slashed important trade union facility time
-capped welfare payments, a lot of which go to people in work, at below-inflation increases
-allowed zero-hours contracts to proliferate across the country without remorse
-failed to take any real action against payday loan companies (in fact they have allowed major stakeholders in payday loan companies like Adrian Beecroft to lobby them)
-increased the time people would need to be in their employment before they are fully protected from unfair dismissal from 12 months to 24 months

Their other actions of reducing the top tax rate of 50p to 45p, and a sharp reduction of tax rates for large corporations and blocking a cap on bankers' bonuses show the Conservatives' total lack of respect for ordinary people in Britain.

This move also smacks of desperation-the Conservatives are still some way behind Labour in the opinion polls and the Liberal Democrat partners still trail behind UKIP, and this is just over a year before the next general election. They are just trying to win over UKIP voters who formerly voted Conservative and turn further right economically(Theresa May's pledge to scrap the Human Rights Act in the unlikely event the Conservatives win the next election is a key example) to appease swing voters in marginal seats in a desperate bid to win next time around. We need to act together quickly to make sure the Con-Dems are unseated in 2015,though, and importantly go out and vote against them rather than abstain.

Alan.
 
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