Liberal Democrats

• The Lib Dems are formed from two parties. The Liberal party which has been in existence from 1877 formally (roughly 1859 informally). It was as important as the Conservatives until the 1920s, they were the government during the 1909-11 People’s budget and World War One,  but were then squeezed by the Labour vote and played a minor role until the 1990s. The second party were the SDP who split from the Labour party in 1981 and then joined the Lib Dems in 1988 after electoral pacts in 1983 and 87 failed.
• In 2005 the Lib Dems hit their electoral peak with 62 MPs
•  in 2010 when the Lib Dems formed a coalition with the Conservatives with their 57 MPs, that they returned to power in a coalition. This was a disaster, they only returned 8 MPs at the 2015 election; voters turned against them due to broken promises over tuition fees (they were going to scrap them in their manifesto but ended up voting to raise them to their current levels).
• The Lib Dems struggled in 2017 and 2019 with a pro-remain stance, and in 2019 campaigned to revoke article 50 (this meant to not leave the EU) if they got a majority. They returned 11 MPs in 2019 but this has now risen to 13 with wins in two by-elections in Conservative seats, showing that a revival could be coming in the future if disillusioned Conservative voters change to them. 
• Economy

  The Lib Dems propose the rebalancing of the UK economy so that wealth and economic activity are spread more widely round the country with a pragmatic approach to running the economy. They believe the poor should be protected in times of economic recession with the wealthy bearing most of tighter economic policies. Taxation should always be fair, based on ability to pay, with the aim of redistributing income. They introduced a 1p-in-the-pound tax increase to help fund the NHS and free-childcare for 2-4yr olds in 2019.
• Law and order

  The Liberal Democrats have two main principles:

  1. Wherever possible, law enforcement should seek to rehabilitate offenders as much as punishing them. You should treat the social causes of crime

  2) They system of law and order must not become so over-authoritarian that human rights are threatened. There must be balance between civil liberties and the need for peace and security
• Foreign policy and EU

  Lib Dems would have preferred UK to stay inside the EU, they pledged to revoke article 50 (not leave the EU) if they won a majority in 2019.

  They support Nato and their aims, but are suspicious of excessive interference by the UK of conflicts abroad. They would abandon the renewal of Trident. Strongly support international aid and the use of the UN to settle international conflicts.
• Welfare

  Education and health are key priorities for Lib Dems because of their drive for equality of opportunity. Spending on both should be protected and increased if quality of services are threatened. In 2019 they pledged to increase the number of teachers in England by 20,000. Benefits should be designed to encourage work and be fair, favoring those who cannot support themselves. Poorer pensioners and single parents should especially be supported.
• Social Liberals

  Policies concerning social justice, with wealth redistribution from rich to poor through taxation and welfare provision

  Tim Farron

  Jo Swinson

  Layla Moran
• The Lib Dems are formed from two parties. The Liberal party which has been in existence from 1877 formally (roughly 1859 informally). It was as important as the Conservatives until the 1920s, they were the government during the 1909-11 People’s budget and World War One,  but were then squeezed by the Labour vote and played a minor role until the 1990s. The second party were the SDP who split from the Labour party in 1981 and then joined the Lib Dems in 1988 after electoral pacts in 1983 and 87 failed.
• In 2005 the Lib Dems gained 62 MPs. In 2010 when they formed a coalition with the Conservatives gained 57 MPs. They only returned 8 MPs in the 2015 election; voters turned against them due to broken promises over tuition fees (they were going to scrap them in their manifesto but ended up voting to raise them to their current levels). They struggled in 2017 and 2019 with a pro-remain stance, and in 2019 campaigned to revoke Article 50 if they got a majority. They returned 11 MPs in 2019 but this has now risen to 13 with wins in two by-elections in Conservative seats.
• Liberal Democrats on the Economy

  They propose the rebalancing of the UK economy so that wealth and economic activity are spread more widely round the country with a pragmatic approach to running the economy. They believe the poor should be protected in times of economic recession with the wealthy bearing most of tighter economic policies. Taxation should always be fair, based on ability to pay, with the aim of redistributing income. They introduced a 1p-in-the-pound tax increase to help fund the NHS and free-childcare for 2-4yr olds in 2019.
• Liberal Democrats on Law and Order

  They have two main principles:

  1. Wherever possible, law enforcement should seek to rehabilitate offenders as much as punishing them. You should treat the social causes of crime

  2) They system of law and order must not become so over-authoritarian that human rights are threatened. There must be balance between civil liberties and the need for peace and security
• Liberal Democrats on Foreign policy and EU

  Lib Dems would have preferred UK to stay inside the EU, they pledged to revoke article 50 (not leave the EU) if they won a majority in 2019.

  They support Nato and their aims, but are suspicious of excessive interference by the UK of conflicts abroad. They would abandon the renewal of Trident. Strongly support international aid and the use of the UN to settle international conflicts.
• Liberal Democrats on Welfare

  Education and health are key priorities for Lib Dems because of their drive for equality of opportunity. Spending on both should be protected and increased if quality of services are threatened. In 2019 they pledged to increase the number of teachers in England by 20,000. Benefits should be designed to encourage work and be fair, favoring those who cannot support themselves. Poorer pensioners and single parents should especially be supported.
• Lib dem factions: Social Liberals

  • They are traditionally seen as being the centre- left wing of the party, associated with the ideas of modern liberals
  • They are more associated with the desire to increase social justice through the state
  • They would rather see higher spending on the disadvantaged to reduce inequality.
  • They include Tim Farron, Simon Hughes and Charles Kennedy
• Since the end of the Coalition Government in 2015, the Liberal Democrats have struggled electorally
• Between the 1850s and early 1920s, the Liberal Party, alongside the Conservatives, were one of the two main parties in the UK. They formed a number of governments, including four under William Gladstone.
• In 1906, the Liberal government oversaw the creation of the welfare state and then led the government into WWI. The war had a profound effect on the Liberal Party. A number of liberal principles had to be sacrificed in the war effort, for example the suspension of civil liberties in the Defence of the Realm Act.
• In 1916, the party split between those supported Herbert Asquith and those supporting Lloyd-George. David Lloyd-George led a coalition government that included the Conservatives and Labour, further diluting the sense that the government espoused liberal values.
• The Representation of the People Act (1918) saw the franchise extended to all males over the age of 21. This change hugely benefitted the fledging Labour Party.
• In 1981, 28 Labour MPs defected from the party and formed a new political party called the Social Democratic Party. These members were centrists who were concerned by the ideological movement of the Labour Party towards the far-left (perhaps best exemplified by the 1983 manifesto which Gerald Kaufmann called ‘the longest suicide note in history’). The defection was spearheaded by the so-called Gang of Four: Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, David Owen and Bill Rodgers.
• The newly created SDP quickly negotiated an electoral alliance with the Liberal Party and the ‘Alliance’ quickly began gaining seats in Parliament through a series of successful by-elections
• Following the 1987 General Election, the two parties formally merged. Originally they were known as the Social and Liberal Democrats, but, since 1989, they have simply been known as the Liberal Democrats.
• Paddy Ashdown became leader of the Liberal Democrats in 1988 and the party made progress during this period. In 1992, the Liberal Democrats were left a little disappointed by their General Election result, as they achieved 20 seats and 17.8% of the national vote. The seats they won were predominately in Scotland or in the South-West of England
• The position of the Liberal Democrats was threatened by the move of Labour to the centre under the New Labour project of Tony Blair. However, in the 1997 General Election the party won 46 seats, the largest number of any liberal party since 1929
•  the Liberal Democrats were consulted by Blair's New Labour on potential constitutional reforms, including reform to the electoral system. As part of Blair’s reforms devolution was initiated in for both Scotland and Wales. In the first government formed in both Scotland and Wales, the Liberal Democrats joined Labour as part of a coalition government.
• In the 2001 General Election, the Liberal Democrats gained to 52 seats and 18.3% of the national vote share.
• During the 2001-2005 Parliament, the Liberal Democrats established itself as the only major party to oppose the invasion of Iraq.
• In 2005, the Liberal Democrats won its best ever election results, winning 62 seats and 22% of the national vote
• Orange Book Liberals

  The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism was published in 2004. It was co-authored by a number of prominent liberals, some of whom later became leaders of the Liberal Democrats: Nick Clegg (2007), Vince Cable (2017) and Ed Davey (2020).

  The so-called Orange Bookers are a faction within the Liberal Democrats who subscribe to greater personal choice and free market solutions to issues of inequality. It is closer to classical liberalism than other factions within the Liberal Democrat Party. It can therefore be defined as centre-right on the political spectrum.
• The Beveridge Group

  This is a faction within the Liberal Democrats which was founded in response to a sense that the party was drifting too much to the right. Founded in 2001, it’s key members included Alistair Carmichael, Paul Holmes and John Barrett. Named after William Beveridge, the pioneering social reformer of the 1940s, the Beveridge Group seek centre-left solutions to social issues.
• Orange Book Liberals on the Economy: Orange Book liberals advocate for a greater balance between economic and social liberalism. They believe that free markets are fundamentally the best mechanism to create equality of opportunity. They believe that individual choice should be placed at the forefront of economic policy.
• Beveridge Group Liberals on the economy: Beveridge Group liberals believe there is a greater role to be played by the government in the economy. They believe that without closer regulation, markets will simply accentuate the poverty gap. Whilst they oppose a default position of government intervention, they believe in certain areas it may be a merited and proportionate response.
• Orange Book Liberals on law and order: In issues of Law and Order Orange Book Liberals tend to emphasise the importance of individual rights and personal freedoms. They are very sceptical of any seemingly excessive use of police powers. They often advocate for the decriminalisation of certain offences, for example the smoking of marijuana. They believe that for such offences, far more focus should be placed on rehabilitation than punishment. Orange Book Liberals tend to advocate for more community-led policing.
• Beveridge Group Liberals on law and order: Tend to place particular emphasis on preventative measures that address the underlying social cases of crime. They therefore support increased funding in community-based programs and youth outreach. They argue that one of the best ways to address crime is to actively reduce the economic disparities in society. Whilst not dismissive of individual rights, Beveridge Groups liberals tend to except that public safety concerns may sometimes mean action is taken that may infringe on some individual rights.
• Orange Book Liberals on welfare: Orange Book Liberals typically argue for market responses to welfare issues and emphasise the importance of personal responsibility. They support very targeted welfare programs that aim to incentivise people going to work and to limited dependency on the state.
• Beveridge Group Liberals on welfare: Beveridge Group liberals tend to support the idea that the state should take more responsibility for providing welfare and reducing inequality. They call for a comprehensive publicly funded welfare system and are generally critical of attempts to privatise social initiatives.
• Orange Book Liberals on foreign policy: Orange Book Liberals tend to be key advocates of free trade and international cooperation. They tend to embrace globalisation and are therefore keen advocates for bespoke free trade agreements. They have traditionally been cautious about military and humanitarian interventions unless they have a very clear mandate or they very clearly align with the national interest. Their approach to international relations is generally pragmatic, rather than idealistic.
• Beveridge Group Liberals on foreign policy: The Beveridge Group’s focus on social justice extended internationally. They tend to be strong advocated of international aid and development and the proactive advocates for human rights. They are more likely to support humanitarian intervention on human rights grounds and their foreign policy stance is more idealistic than that of Orange Book Liberals.