Mould cracking at last, say Lib-Dems

THE LABOUR and Conservative two-party mould is beginning to crack open, Liberal Democrats are to be told at their annual spring conference, at Southport, next month.

Appealing for endorsement of the party's current stance of "constructive opposition" to the Labour government, the party leader- ship tells representatives: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

In a policy paper, No Glass Ceilings, the party executive says that since last year's election, the Liberal Democrats have become recognised "as the most effective opposition, working with the Government in some areas to implement our long-standing objectives, and vigorously opposing them in other areas ...

"What is more, we have gained our new-found strength at a time of great fluidity and uncertainty in British politics. With divisions opening up within both the other parties (`Old' Labour and `New' Labour, `Euro-sceptic' Conservative and `One Nation' Conservative) the two-party mould is beginning to crack, the paper asserts.

"The possible advent of a proportional voting system and a pluralist political settlement only goes to exacerbate these uncertainties."