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Liberal Democrats (UK)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Lordjeffsofdelamere (talk | contribs) at 12:00, 17 November 2010 (Undid revision 397289314 by Lordjeffsofdelamere (talk) - just noticed he doesn't assume office until 2011). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the British political party. For similarly named parties in other countries, see Liberal Democratic Party. For the concept held by "liberal democrats", see Liberal democracy.
Liberal Democrats
LeaderNick Clegg
Deputy LeaderSimon Hughes
PresidentBaroness Scott of Needham Market
FoundedModern Party, March 2nd 1988, Historical Party, 1678
Merger ofSDP–Liberal Alliance
Headquarters4 Cowley Street,
London SW1P 3NB[1]
Youth wingLiberal Youth
IdeologyLiberalism
Internal factions:
Social liberals,
Market liberals
Political positionCentre to Centre-left
European affiliationEuropean Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European Parliament groupAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
International affiliationLiberal International
ColoursYellow  [2]
House of Commons
57 / 650
[3]
House of Lords
79 / 738
[4][5]
European Parliament
12 / 72
[6]
London Assembly
3 / 25
Scottish Parliament
16 / 129
Welsh Assembly
5 / 60
[7][8]
Local government
3,926 / 21,871
[9]
Website
http://libdems.org.uk/

The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a centre to centre-left social liberal political party in the United Kingdom.[10][11] The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The two parties had formed the electoral SDP–Liberal Alliance for seven years before then. The current leader of the party is Nick Clegg. At the 2010 general election, 57 Lib Dem MPs were elected, making them the third-largest party in the House of Commons, behind the Conservative Party with 307 and the Labour Party with 258. The Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government with the Conservative Party, with Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister and other Liberal Democrats in the cabinet.[12]

Promoting social liberalism, the Liberal Democrats voice strong support for constitutional and electoral reform, and civil liberties. The party president's book of office is John Stuart Mill's 1859 On Liberty, which defended individual rights while attacking the tyranny of the majority and the despotism of custom. The party objects to state limitations on individual rights and favours a welfare state that provides for the necessities and amenities of life.[13][14] They support multilateral foreign policy, opposing British participation in the War in Iraq and supporting the withdrawal of troops from the country.[15] The Liberal Democrats are the most pro-European Union of the three main parties in the UK. The party has strong environmentalist values—favouring renewable energy and commitments to deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Since their foundation, Lib Dems have advocated electoral reform to use proportional representation in electing the House of Commons, also hoping to replace the House of Lords with an elected chamber.

History

Founding

File:SDP-Liberal Alliance.png
Logo of the SDP–Liberal Alliance

The Liberal Democrats were formed on 2 March 1988 by a merger between the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, which had formed a pact nearly seven years earlier as the SDP–Liberal Alliance. The Liberals descended from the British Whig Party, the Radicals and the Peelites, while the SDP were a Labour splinter group.[16]

Having declined to third party status after the rise of the Labour Party from 1918 and especially during the 1920s, the Liberals were challenged for this position in the 1980s when a group of Labour MPs broke away and established the Social Democratic Party (SDP).[16] The SDP and the Liberals realised that there was no space for four political parties and entered into the SDP–Liberal Alliance so that they would not stand against each other in elections. The Alliance was led by David Steel (Liberal) and Roy Jenkins (SDP); Jenkins was replaced by David Owen.[16] The two parties had their own policies and emphases, but produced a joint manifesto for the 1983 and 1987 general elections.

Following disappointing results in the 1987 election, Steel proposed to merge the two parties. Although opposed by Owen, it was supported by a majority of members of both parties, and they formally merged in 1988, with Steel and Robert Maclennan (who had become SDP leader in August 1987) as joint interim leaders. The new party was named Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD); after shortening this to The Democrats in October 1988, it changed to Liberal Democrats in October 1989, which is frequently shortened to Lib Dems.[16] The minority of the SDP who rejected the merger remained under Owen's leadership in a rump SDP; the minority of the Liberal Party divided, with some retiring from politics immediately and others (led by former Liberal MP Michael Meadowcroft) creating a new 'Liberal Party' that claimed to be the continuation of the Liberal Party which had just dissolved itself. Michael Meadowcroft eventually joined the Liberal Democrats in 2007 but some of his former followers continue still as 'The Liberal Party', most notably in a couple of electoral wards of the City of Liverpool.[16]

Post-1988 history

Ashdown (1988–99)

Paddy Ashdown: Leader from 1988 to 1999

The then-serving Liberal MP Paddy Ashdown was elected leader in July 1988. At the 1989 European Elections, the party received only 6% of the vote, beaten to fourth place by the Green Party.[16] They failed to gain a single Member of European Parliament at this election.[17]

Over the next three years, the party recovered under Ashdown's leadership. They performed better at the 1990 local elections and in by-elections—including at Eastbourne in 1990, Ribble Valley in 1991 and Kincardine & Deeside in 1991.

The Lib Dems did not reach the share of national votes in the 1990s that the Alliance had achieved in the 1980s. At their first election in 1992 (which ended in a fourth successive Conservative win), they won 17.8% of the vote and twenty seats.[18] They more than doubled their representation at the 1997 general election, when they gained 46 seats[18]—through tactical voting and concentrating resources in winnable seats.[19]

In the 1994 European Elections, the party gained its first two Members of European Parliament.[20]

Following the election of Tony Blair as Labour leader in July 1994 after the death of his predecessor John Smith, Ashdown pursued co-operation between the two parties because he wanted to form a coalition government should the next general election end without any party having an overall majority.[21] This Lib-Lab pact failed to form because Labour's massive majority after the 1997 general election made it an irrelevance for Labour, and because Labour were not prepared to consider the introduction of proportional representation and other Lib Dem conditions.[21]

Kennedy (1999–2006)

Charles Kennedy: Leader from 1999 to 2006

Ashdown retired as leader in 1999[22] and Charles Kennedy was elected as his replacement. The party improved on their 1997 results at the 2001 general election, increasing their seats to 52 and their vote share to 18.3%.[23] They won support from former Labour and Conservative voters due to the Lib Dems' position on issues that appeal to those on the left and the right: opposition to the war in Iraq[15] and support for civil liberties, electoral reform, and open government. Charles Kennedy expressed his goal to replace the Conservatives as the official opposition;[24] The Spectator awarded him the 'Parliamentarian of the Year' award in November 2004 for his position on the war.[25] The party won seats from Labour in by-elections in Brent East in 2003 and Leicester South in 2004, and narrowly missed taking others in Birmingham Hodge Hill and Hartlepool.[26]

At the 2005 general election, the Lib Dems gained their highest share of the vote since the SDP–Liberal Alliance (22.1%), receiving 62 seats.[27] Many had anticipated that this election would be the Lib Dem's breakthrough at Westminster; party activists hoped to better the 25.4% support of the 1983 election, or to reach 100 MPs.[28] 2005 could be considered a wasted opportunity for the party; but much of the apparent lack of success was a result of the Westminster first-past-the-post elections: the party got almost a quarter of the total votes nationally but only one-tenth of the seats in the Commons.[27]

One trend at the election was that Lib Dems replaced the Conservatives as Labour's main opponents in urban areas. Many gains came in previously Labour-held urban constituencies (e.g. Manchester Withington, Cardiff Central, Birmingham Yardley), many of which had been held by the Conservatives in the 1980s, and they had over 100 second-place finishes behind Labour candidates.[27] The British electoral system makes it hard for the Conservatives to form a government without winning some city seats out of its rural heartlands, such as the Lib Dem Bristol West constituency, where the Conservatives came third in 2005 after holding the seat until 1997.[29]

In a statement on 5 January 2006, Charles Kennedy admitted to a long battle with alcoholism and announced a leadership election in which he intended to stand for re-election, while Sir Menzies Campbell took over as acting leader.[30]

For several years there had been rumours alleging that Kennedy had problems with alcohol—the BBC's Nick Robinson called it "Westminster's worst-kept secret".[31] Kennedy had on previous occasions denied these rumours, although some suggested that he had deliberately misled the public and his party.[31]

Campbell (2006–2007)

Menzies Campbell: Leader from 2006 to 2007

Kennedy initially planned to stand as a candidate, but he withdrew from the election citing a lack of support among Lib Dem MPs.[32] Sir Menzies subsequently won the contest, defeating Chris Huhne and Simon Hughes, among others, in a very controversial race. Mark Oaten withdrew from the contest because of revelations about visits to male prostitutes. Simon Hughes came under attack regarding his sexuality while Chris Huhne was accused live on The Daily Politics of attempting to rig polls.[32]

Despite the negative press over Kennedy's departure, the leaderless party won the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election over Labour in February 2006. This result was viewed as a particular blow for Gordon Brown, who lives in the constituency, represents the adjacent seat and featured in Labour's campaign.[33] The party also came second place by 633 votes in the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, threatening the safe Conservative seat and pushing Labour into fourth place behind the United Kingdom Independence Party.[34] In July 2007, Sir Menzies announced that the party wished to cut the basic rate of income tax from 20 to 16p per pound—the lowest rate since 1916—and wanted to finance the cut using green taxes and other revenues from UK properties owned by non-UK residents eligible for a capital gains tax.[35]

Opinion poll trends during Campbell's leadership showed support for the Lib Dems decline to less than 20%.[36] Campbell resigned on 15 October 2007, and Vince Cable became acting leader until a leadership election could be held.[37] Cable was praised during his tenure for his performances at Prime Minister's Questions over the Northern Rock crisis, HMRC's loss of child benefit data, and the 2007 Labour party donation scandal.[38]

Clegg (2007–present)

Nick Clegg: Leader from 2007 to present, and current Deputy Prime Minister

On 18 December 2007, Nick Clegg won the leadership election, becoming the party's fourth leader. Clegg won the leadership with a majority of 511 votes (1.2%) over his opponent Chris Huhne, in a poll of party members.[39] Clegg is the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam, and was an MEP for the East Midlands from 1999 to 2004.[40]

In his acceptance speech, Clegg declared that he was "a liberal by temperament, by instinct and by upbringing" and that he believes "Britain [is] a place of tolerance and pluralism". He claimed that his priorities were defending civil liberties; devolving the running of public services to parents, pupils and patients; and protecting the environment,[41] and that he wanted to forge a "liberal alternative to the discredited policies of big government".[40] He also proposed a target to double the number of Lib Dem MPs within two elections, and before the 2008 local elections confirmed that he was pleased with their performance in the polls: "the polls yesterday were at 20%, that's considerably higher than 13% just a few years ago. It's far, far higher than we've ever been at this point in the political cycle two or three years after a general election."[42]

Shortly after election, Clegg reshuffled the party's frontbench team, making Chris Huhne the replacement Home Affairs spokesperson, Ed Davey the Foreign Affairs spokesperson, and keeping Vince Cable as Shadow Chancellor.[43] His predecessors were also given roles: Campbell joined the all-party Commons foreign affairs select committee, and Kennedy campaigned nationwide on European issues, as president of the UK's European Movement.[43]

Coalition government (2010)

After Clegg's performance in the first of three general election debates on 15 April 2010, ComRes reported that the Liberal Democrats polled 24% on the day.[44] On 20 April, in a YouGov poll, the Liberal Democrats were on 34%, 1 point above the Conservatives, with Labour in third place on 28%.[45]

In the general election held on 6 May 2010, the Liberal Democrats' representation went down by 5 seats in the House of Commons, giving them 57 seats, despite increasing their share of the vote to 23%. Nevertheless, the election returned a hung parliament with no party having an absolute majority. Negotiations between the Lib Dems and the two main parties occurred in the following days. Upon David Cameron becoming Prime Minister on 11 May after Gordon Brown's resignation, the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government with the Conservative Party with Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister and other Liberal Democrats in the cabinet.[46] The two party leaders plan closer links between the two parties, and intend to coordinate their party conferences, including co-ordinated policy announcements.[47]

Electoral results

Lib Dem vote and seat share 1983–2005

In United Kingdom general elections, the Lib Dems succeeded the Liberal-SDP Alliance as the third most popular party, behind Labour and the Conservatives. Their popularity initially declined from the levels attained by the Alliance, but their seat count has risen to its peak of 63 seats, a feat that has been credited to more intelligent targeting of vulnerable seats.[19] The vote percentage for the Alliance in 1987 and the Lib Dems in 2005 is similar, yet the Lib Dems won 62 seats to the Alliance's 22.[27]

The first-past-the-post electoral system used in UK General Elections is not suited to parties whose vote is evenly divided across the country, resulting in those parties achieving a lower proportion of seats in the Commons than their proportion of the popular vote (see table and graph). The Lib Dems and their Liberal and SDP predecessors have suffered especially,[48] particularly in the 1980s when their electoral support was greatest while the disparity between the votes and the number of MPs returned to parliament was significantly large. The increase in their number of seats in 1997, 2001 and 2005 was attributed to the weakness of the Conservatives and the success of their election strategist Lord Rennard.[19] Lib Dems state that they want 'three-party politics' in the Commons;[49][50] the most realistic chance of power with first past the post is for the party to be the kingmakers in a hung parliament.[51] Party leaders often set out their terms for forming a coalition in such an event—Nick Clegg stated in 2008 that the policy for the 2010 General Election is to reform elections, parties and parliament in a "constitutional convention".[52]

General election Name Share of votes Seats Share of seats Source
1983 SDP–Liberal Alliance 25.4% 23 3.5% [53]
1987 SDP–Liberal Alliance 22.6% 22 3.4% [53]
1992 Liberal Democrats 17.8% 20 3.1% [18]
1997 Liberal Democrats 16.7% 46 7.0% [18]
2001 Liberal Democrats 18.3% 52 7.9% [23]
2005 Liberal Democrats 22.1% 62 9.6% [27]
2010 Liberal Democrats 23.0% 57 8.8% [3]

The party has performed better in local elections as it won control of 31 councils.[54] In the 2008 local elections, they gained 25% of the vote, placing them ahead of Labour and increasing their control by 34 to more than 4,200 council seats—21% of the total number of seats.[55]

European elections

Graham Watson: Former leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is the Liberal Democrat MEP for the South West of England and the first Lib Dem to be elected to the European parliament

The party has generally not performed as well in elections to the European Parliament. In the 2004 local elections, their share of the vote was 29% (placing them second, ahead of Labour)[50] and 14.9% in the simultaneous European Parliament elections (putting them in fourth place behind UK Independence Party (UKIP)).[56] The results of the 2009 European elections were similar with the party achieving a vote of 28% in the county council elections yet achieving only 13.7% in the Europeans despite the elections taking place on the same day. The 2009 elections did however see the party gain one seat from UKIP in the East Midlands region taking the number of representatives in the parliament up to 11.[57]

In Europe, the party sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) political group, which favours further strengthening the EU.[58] The group's leader for seven and a half years was the South West of England MEP Graham Watson, who was also the first Liberal Democrat to be elected to the European parliament when he won the old Somerset and North Devon constituency in 1994.[59] The group's current leader is the former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt.[60]

European election (UK) Name Share of votes Seats Share of seats Source
1984 SDP–Liberal Alliance 18.5% 0 0% [61]
1989 Social and Liberal Democrats 6.2% 0 0% [62]
1994 Liberal Democrats 16.1% 2 2.3% [63]
1999 Liberal Democrats 12.7% 10 11.5% [64]
2004 Liberal Democrats 14.9% 12 15.4% [56]
2009 Liberal Democrats 13.7% 11 15.3% [6]

Scottish Parliament elections

Tavish Scott: Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats

The first elections for the Scottish parliament were held in 1999 and resulted in the Liberal Democrats forming a coalition government with Labour from its establishment until 2007.[65] The Liberal Democrat leader Jim Wallace became Deputy First Minister, a role he continued until his retirement as party leader in 2005. The new leader of the party, Nicol Stephen, then took on the role of Deputy First Minister until the election of 2007[66]

Since the parliament was established, the Lib Dems have maintained a consistent number of MSPs. From the 17 initially elected, they retained this number in 2003 and went down one to 16 in 2007.[67] The current leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats is the MSP for Shetland, Tavish Scott, who took up his role in 2008.[68]

Scottish Parliament Elections Name Share of constituency votes Seats Share of regional votes Seats Total Seats Share of Seats
1999 Liberal Democrats 14.15% 12 12.43% 5 17 13.2%
2003 Liberal Democrats 15.3% 13 11.8% 4 17 13.2%
2007 Liberal Democrats 16.2% 11 11.3% 5 16 12.6%

Welsh Assembly Elections

Kirsty Williams: Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats

Elections to the newly created Welsh assembly also took place for the first time in 1999 and saw the Liberal Democrats take six seats in the inaugural assembly, with Welsh Labour winning a plurality of seats in the assembly, but not enough to win an outright majority. In October 2000, following a series of close votes, the parties formed a coalition that saw the Lib Dem leader in the assembly, Michael German, become the Deputy First Secretary.[69] The deal lasted until the election of 2003, when Labour won enough seats to be able to govern outright.[70]

The party has polled consistently in all three elections to the assembly, so far returning six representatives each time and establishing itself as the fourth party in Wales behind Labour, the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru. The current leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats is Kirsty Williams, the assembly member for Brecon & Radnorshire, the assembly's first female leader.[71]

Welsh Assembly Elections Name Share of constituency votes Seats Share of regional votes Seats Total Seats Share of Seats
1999 Liberal Democrats 13.5% 3 12.50% 3 6 10%
2003 Liberal Democrats 14.1% 3 12.7% 3 6 10%
2007 Liberal Democrats 14.8% 3 11.7% 3 6 10%

Structure

See also: Liberal Democrats in England, Scottish Liberal Democrats, and Welsh Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a federal party of the parties of England, Scotland and Wales. The English and Scottish parties are further split into regions. The parliamentary parties of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly form semi-autonomous units within the party. The leaders in the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament are the leaders of the federal party and the Scottish Party; the leaders in the other two chambers, and the officers of all parliamentary parties, are elected from their own number. Co-ordination of all party activities across all federated groups is undertaken through the Federal Executive. Chaired by the party leader, its 30+ members includes representatives from each of the groups and democratically elected representatives.[72]

The Lib Dems had around 59,000 members at the end of 2009[1] and in the first quarter of 2008, the party received £1.1 million in donations and have total borrowings and unused credit facilities of £1.1 million (the "total debt" figure reported by the Electoral Commission includes, for example, unused overdraft facilities). This compares to Labour's £3.1 million in donations and £17.8 million of borrowing/credit facilities, and the Conservatives' £5.7 million in donations and £12.1 million of borrowing/credit facilities.[73]

Specified Associated Organisations (SAOs) review and input policies, representing groups including: ethnic minorities (EMLD),[74] women (WLD),[75] the LGBT community (Delga),[76] youth and students (Liberal Youth), engineers and scientists (ALDES),[77] parliamentary candidates (PCA)[78] and local councillor s (ALDC).[79] Others can become Associated Organisations (AOs) as pressure groups in the party, such as the Green Liberal Democrats,[80] Liberal Democrats Online[81] and the Liberal Democrat Disability Association.[82] The National Union of Liberal Clubs (NULC)represents Liberal Social Clubs which encourages recreational institutions where the promotion of the party can take place.

Like the Conservatives, the Lib Dems organise in Northern Ireland, though they do not contest elections in the province: they work with the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, de facto agreeing to support the Alliance in elections.[83] There is a small separate local party of the Lib Dems in Northern Ireland. Several individuals, including Alliance Party leader David Ford, hold membership of both parties. Alliance members of the House of Lords take the Lib Dem whip on non-Northern Ireland issues, and the Alliance Party usually has a stall at Lib Dem party conferences.

The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, and their 11 MEPs sit in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group in the European Parliament.

Ideology and internal factions

Former leader Charles Kennedy said that the Lib Dems were neither to the left nor the right[84] while his successor Menzies Campbell claimed that the party is on the centre-left.[85] In 2009, Nick Clegg said he hoped to make the party a "vanguard of the progressive centre left" in the next general election.[86] However, Vince Cable later claimed that the Lib Dems were not a centre-left party and had "a liberal approach to economic policy, free-trade and open markets."[87]

Liberal Democrats can be classified into two factions — social and market liberals — that are unrelated to membership of the party's predecessors. Several social liberals, including Paddy Ashdown, were former Liberal MPs, and some market liberals, such as Vincent Cable, were from the SDP.

Social liberals advocate the welfare state, higher taxation and public spending, government regulation to protect consumers, employees and the environment and support civil liberties and human rights. Social liberals include Paul Holmes, Norman Baker and Simon Hughes. Social liberal MPs, along with party members from outside Parliament, formed the short-lived Beveridge Group.

The market liberal or libertarian wing shares with social liberals a belief in basic civil and political freedoms (negative freedoms). However, while social liberals argue that the state should provide social and economic rights to its citizens (positive freedoms), market liberals criticize the government's ability to increase freedom. This criticism often manifests itself as support for greater economic freedom, causing tension between the two wings. Several MPs from the market liberal wing contributed to the Orange Book (2004),[88] a collection of essays intended to spark debate on a greater role for free-market liberalism in economic policy. Some party donors, journalists and party officials back this wing of the party.[89] Leading market liberals in the party include Vince Cable, David Laws and Nick Clegg.[88]

Membership figures

Year Membership (as of December 31)
2001 73,276[90]
2002 71,636[90]
2003 73,305[91]
2004 72,721[92]
2005 72,031[93]
2006 68,743[94]
2007 65,400[95]
2008 59,810[96]
2009 58,768[1]

There were 65,861 ballot papers issued in the 2010 contest for Party President, which gives an approximation of the number of members in the Party as of late 2010.[97]

Leaders

See also: List of leaders of the Liberal Democrats
Entered office Left office Date of Birth
David Steel 1 7 July 1987 16 July 1988 31 March 1938
Robert Maclennan 2 6 August 1987 16 July 1988 26 June 1936
Paddy Ashdown 16 July 1988 9 August 1999 27 February 1941
Charles Kennedy 9 August 1999 7 January 2006 25 November 1959
Sir Menzies Campbell 3 2 March 2006 15 October 2007 22 May 1941
Vince Cable 4 15 October 2007 18 December 2007 9 May 1943
Nick Clegg 18 December 2007 Incumbent 7 January 1967
  • 1 Joint interim leader, as leader of the Liberal Party before the merger.
  • 2 Joint interim leader, as leader of the Social Democratic Party before the merger.
  • 3 Interim leader between the resignation of Charles Kennedy on 7 January 2006 and his own election on 2 March 2006.
  • 4 Interim leader between the resignation of Menzies Campbell on 15 October 2007 and the election of Nick Clegg on 18 December 2007.
See also: Social and Liberal Democrats leadership election, 1988; Liberal Democrats leadership election, 1999; Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2006; and Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2007

Deputy Leaders

See also: List of Deputy Leaders of the Liberal Democrats
See also: Liberal Democrats deputy leadership election, 2003; Liberal Democrats deputy leadership election, 2006; and Liberal Democrats deputy leadership election, 2010

Leaders in the European Parliament

The Liberal Democrats did not have representation in the European Parliament prior to 1994.

Liberal Democrat members of the British Cabinet

Further information: [[:Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team]]

See also

References

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