Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a centrist to centre-left social liberal political party in the United Kingdom. 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 reform, electoral reform, civil liberties and rights, and higher taxes for public services. The party president's book of office is John Stuart Mill's 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

The Liberal Democrats were formed on 2 March 1988 by a merger between the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, which had actually 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 the Liberals were challenged for this position in the 1980s when a group of Labour MPs broke away and established the Social Democratic Party. 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 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]

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] By the early 1990s, 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, they won 17.8% of the vote and twenty seats.^[17] They more than doubled their representation at the 1997 general election, when they gained 46 seats^[17]—through tactical voting and concentrating resources in winnable seats.^[18]

Following the election of Tony Blair as Labour leader in 1994, Ashdown pursued cooperation between the two parties because he wanted to form a coalition government.^[19] 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.^[19]

Charles Kennedy

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