Contrast and compare the urban regeneration policies of the UK Conservative Government 1990-1997 and the UK Labour Government 1997-2002.

The Conservative Government of 1990 under John Major aimed to move urban politics in a new direction. The removal of Margaret Thatcher from office and the re-appointment of Michael Heseltine to the Department of the Environment signalled this change in direction. The policies of the 1980s were based on privatisation with respect to the redevelopment of deprived areas. The policies from the 1980s however received much criticism from the Audit Commission Report, as well as Conservative supporters alike. The Audit Commission had described Urban Support Programmes as a patchwork quilt of complexity and idiosyncrasy, and the economic decline, combined with changing patterns of economic growth led to poverty….(short extract)