LETTER : Labour will lose support if it sides with the super

The week we hear that, to protect butchers, bakers and small shopkeepers, Jacques Chirac proposes curbs on hypermarkets, we discover with dismay that corporatist new Labour is likely to loosen our already inadequate restrictions on out-of-town retail developments in order to curry favour with the giant food chains.

After sweetheart deals with BT, canoodling with the City and sucking up to the Sun, we must wonder what next for new Labour? Or perhaps it needs reminding that unrequited love for big business is bound to end in tears.

Clive D Fraser

University of Leicester