Party Policies: What's at stake at the next election?

Children's services don't arouse the same level of passion as, say, the future of the NHS. But even politicians agree that we should do all we can to nurture our country's children. The substance of the Government's plans for the transformation of children services has largely been accepted by the other two main parties, with the Conservatives simply demanding more local flexibility while the Liberal Democrats would give extra money to help smooth the process.

That's not to say there's a complete consensus, though, as debates in Parliament on the Children Bill prove. Smacking is one issue that divides the big three. While the Government believes the defence of reasonable chastisement should stand, for the Lib Dems it should be removed, effectively banning smacking. The Tories, on the other hand, have no party policy, seeing the issue as a matter of conscience for individual MPs.