Liberal Democrats

• Nick Clegg 2007-2015
• Tim Faron 2015-2017
• Jo Swinson 2017-2019
• Sir Vince Cable 2019-2020
• Sir Ed Davey 2020-present
• Liberty: state should interfere as little as possible, privacy, freedom and individual rights must be protected
• Social justice: removal of unjustifiable inequalities in incomes in society, equality of opportunity, removal of all artificial privileges to which people might be born
• Welfare: cannot be genuinely free if they are enslaved by poverty, unemployment or sickness therefore state welfare sets people free
• Constitutionalism: highly suspicious of government power so it should be firmly controlled via a strong constitution
• Core values of the Lib Dems:

  • liberty
  • social justice
  • welfare
  • social reformers
  • multiculturalism
  • environment
  • constitutionalism
• Social reformers: strongly support women, disabled, ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ rights
• Multiculturalism: different cultures and lifestyles should be welcomed and granted special rights, links to their pluralist outlook.
• Environment: human life will be enriched by a healthy physical environment and by biodiversity
• Aim to keep Britain “open, tolerant and united”
• Economic policy: at 2015 general election they emphasised their continued commitment to eliminating the budget deficit. Must be done in a way that was fair to the poor.
• Economic policy: Introduced a policy, to which the Tories signed up, of progressively raising basic income-tax threshold so that more low-income people were relieved of paying tax
• Economic policy: commitment to renewable energy and the expansion of the Green Investment Bank they helped to establish
• Welfare policy:

  • controlling spending on benefits
  • upgrading pensions
  • extending free childcare
  • pledging to curb benefits paid
  • pledged to increase NHS funding from 2015
• Law and order:

  • defence of civil liberties
  • Communications Data bill - monitoring internet use
  • rehabilitation of prisoners and use of community service
• Foreign policy:

  • enthusiastic of remaining in the EU
  • reluctance to accept the result of the Brexit referendum
• liberal democracy - cemented human rights
• multiculturalism - different cultures should be welcomed and granted special rights
• Liberal democrat’s formed in 1988 with the merger of Liberal Party and Social Democratic Party (SDP)
• Was a distant third party by the 1960s
• Classical liberal beliefs:

  • liberty/freedom
  • freedom to be achieved with limited state intervention
  • free market
  • privatisation
  • capitalism (laissez-faire = let it be)
• Modern liberal beliefs:

  • equality of opportunity (social justice but still capitalism)
  • limited state intervention still
• liberty - state should interfere as little as possible. privacy, freedom and individual rights to be protected
• Social justice - removal of unjustifiable inequalities, equal opportunity and remove artificial privileges
• Welfare - cannot be free if enslaved by poverty, old age, sickness or unemployment
• Social reform - rights of women, disabled and LGBTQ+
• Environment - human life is enriched by a healthy physical environment
• The Liberal Democrats reached their electoral height in 2005 when they won 62 seats under Charles Kennedy
• In 2010 there was a hung parliament. Labour had lost 94 seats. The Lib Dem’s had 57 retaining the third largest majority party. The conservatives won 306, but 326 seats are needed for a majority
• Time Farron, Vince Cable and Jo Swinson economic policy:

  • continued commitment to eliminating the budget deficit
  • progressively raising the basic income-tax threshold so that more low income people were relieved of paying tax
• Tim Farron, Vince Cable and Jo Swinson law and order:

  • regard the defence of civil liberties as one of their key characteristics
  • Communications Data Bill (monitoring of internet use)
  • The rehabilitation of prisoners and use of community service
• Tim Farron, Vince Cable and Jo Swinson:

  • aim to keep Britain ’open, tolerant and united’
  • stressed their environmental credentials commitment to renewable energy and expansion of the Green Investment Bank
• Ed Davey economic policy:

  • strongly social democrat and increase income tax by 1p, the £1 billion this would create would support the NHS
• Ed Davey welfare policy:

  • committed to social justice - restore uni maintenance grants for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and free childcare for preschool children
• Ed Davey foreign policy:

  • Pro european but acknowledged the UK would not be rejoining the EU
  • strongest possible relationship with the EU
  • not to cut oversees aid
  • support nuclear deterrent and NATO to protect British interests
• Ed Davey law and order policy:

  • support community policing as preventative measure
  • legalisation of cannibis - self harm principle