Maintain lowest European tax burden

Maintain lowest European tax burden.LABOUR Inflation target 2.5 per cent or less Greater independence for Bank of England. Public debt at "stable and prudent level", borrowing only to invest, "over economic cycle" Review of Whitehall assets Maintenance of current, two-year spending plans. High and stable employment.LIB DEM Bank of England independence; accountable to Parliament for keeping inflation low. Lower inflation and stable exchange rate best served by single currency membership.

Public borrowing should not exceed investment "over economic cycle" Public-private investment partnerships Savings encouragement. Investment and economic stability.TransportCONSERVATIVE Complete "successful transfer" of British Rail, followed by plans to privatise London Underground, with recycling of proceeds to modernise network within five years, and regulation of fares to ensure no rise above inflation for four years. Road-building programme to be sustained.LABOUR More effective regulation of privatised railways, with new rail authority back-up Unpersuaded on case for 44-tonne lorries Strategic review of roads programme. New public-private partnership for London Underground, with no sell-off.

Proper, local regulation of bus services.LIB DEM Treble rail freight and double passengers by 2010, withholding subsidies from Railtrack if targets not met, with possible renationalisation of controlling interest in Railtrack in event of "persistent failure". Urban road-pricing to help pay for "clean and rapid" public transport. Public-private partnership investment.PrivatisationCONSERVATIVE London Underground and Parcelforce. Preserve national identity, universal service and distinctive characteristics of Post Office Royal Mail while considering options - including "different forms of privatisation" - for providing private capital and management.LABOUR "We will ensure that self-financing commercial organisations within the public sector - the Post Office is a prime example - are given greater commercial freedom to make the most of new opportunities." Privatisation not mentioned.LIB DEM London Underground to be retained. Existing utility regulators combined in Office of Utility Regulation, ensuring excess profits used to cut prices and improve services.UnionsCONSERVATIVE Public protection from "abuse" of union power by removal of legal immunity from court action for strikes which have "disproportionate or excessive effect", allowing public and employers to seek injunctions to stop such strikes.

Strike ballots to be repeated at regular intervals.LABOUR Union legislation of 1980s to stay on ballots, picketing and industrial action, but where majority of "relevant workforce" vote for representation, union should be recognised. "Full consultation on the most effective means of implementing this proposal." Minimum wage to cut taxpayer subsidy to low-pay employers.LIB DEM New rights to consultation and participation in decisions Promotion of profit-sharing and employee share-ownership. Extension of EU Social Chapter benefits to all employees, "while resisting the adoption of new rules that unnecessarily harm job opportunities."ConstitutionCONSERVATIVE Evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, change. Plan to give Parliament more time to consider legislation by extending Queen's Speech programme to cover firm programme for year ahead, and provisional programme for the year after.LABOUR Referendums offered on Scottish, Welsh and London devolution, and Proportional Representation for general elections Abolition of hereditary peers' rights in Lords Reform of party funding Freedom of Information Act More freedom for councils Human rights guarantee.LIB DEM Smaller, stronger Commons Ten-year plan for elected Lords Proportional Representation Four-year Parliaments Party-funding cleansed Bill of Rights Freedom of Information Scottish and Welsh home rule Stronger local government; London authority. Ulster power-sharing executive.DefenceCONSERVATIVE Encouragement of further development of cadet forces No need for defence spending review. Will resist attempts to bring Western European Union under control of EU.LABOUR Retention of Trident, though nuclear weapons to be included in multilateral negotiations "when satisfied with verified progress towards our goal of global elimination". Strategic defence, security, and spending review promised.LIB DEM Retain Trident, with restricted warhead capacity, until international multilateral nuclear disarmament can be achieved Retain defence capability at current level Strengthen UN peacekeeping.

Control of arms sales, and ban landmines.TOTAL SCORESCONSERVATIVE LABOUR LIB DEM. These are the battlegrounds that will decide the outcome of the election. What matters most is Labour's assault on the Conservative-dominated middle ground. The large graphic shows the marginal seats which could change hands between the two main parties. Labour currently has a lead of about 20 points in the opinion polls, whereas the Conservatives won the last election by an 8-point margin. Such a difference in the real poll would mean that 14 per cent of voters had changed sides.