THE radical overhaul of public finances, announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown today, demonstrates the huge gap in thinking at local and national levels of the Labour Party.

On the one hand we have the ruling group on Blackburn with Darwen Council blundering down memory lane and dredging up anti-business policies and on the other there is a Labour Chancellor announcing state sell-offs to finance key public services.

Mr Brown could not bring himself to call it privatisation, but selling off majority stakes in the National Air Traffic Services and the Commonwealth Development Corporation, is just that.

He is using Margaret Thatcher-style tactics to get the funding, but spending the cash in a completely different way.

New Labour: Refreshing new approach.

Blackburn with Darwen Council's Labour Group should take note and learn.

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