in contact with the drain wire and an insulating layer 6 providing insulation between turns the drain wire and laminated tape are wound at pitch angles selected in accordance with the above range to affix the laminate in the desired position relative to the dielectric an insulating tape 9 is wound at a relatively higher pitch than the laminated tape this tape 9 can be wound either with the same or opposite lay direction of twist as the laminated tape the drain wire performs its conventional function of ensuring that the surface formed by the tape is at a uniform electrostatic potential it will be clear that the order of the conducting layer and insulating layer can be reversed and the cable will function in the same manner other methods of mechanical restraint for the spiral tape are possible for example it is possible to interlock the adjacent insulated edges of the conductor as in armouring or folding or to extrude a dielectric sleeve or jacket directly over the conductor immediately after it has been applied similar constructions using the present invention include the use of commercially available laminate tapes having several conductive and insulating layers of same or different widths or the use of more than one parallel spiral conductive tape.