Tories in the UK have demanded a clampdown on trade unions in a show of “Thatcherite zeal” aimed at stopping a wave of industrial unrest.

GREATER efforts should be made to help the vulnerable and unemployed, according to a member of the troika, who appealed for hard evidence of the effects of the austerity programme on people.

Labour has to define its role in government quickly, writes Gerard Howlin

I FIND it extraordinary that Sean Scully (Letters, August 11) somehow manages to lay the blame for Britain’s public disorder at the feet of Margaret Thatcher, who resigned over 20 years ago.

WE should not be surprised at the scenes of mayhem in London and other British cities.

BRITAIN was weighing a beleaguered yet experienced incumbent against an untested but charismatic Conservative rival – along with a surprise upstart contender – in an election yesterday that was so close it could yield an uncertain outcome and prolonged political turmoil.

I WISH to take up the challenge of Michael Burns (Letters, July 24) to name five PD policies which could be described as Thatcherite.

WE had a very small library in my old secondary school. Among the collection of books which students were allowed to borrow was a handful on history and politics.

SO Charlie McCreevy, EU competitiveness commissioner, has finally shown his true Thatcherite colours.

The Progressive Democrats, who celebrate 19 years in politics today, plan a major recruitment drive in 2005 to sustain the party’s future.