POLITICS - UK POLITICS - THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

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34 Terms

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what does it mean to be a liberal

liberal ideology believes in freedom,ideology and protection of rights

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how did the liberal party start

emerged in 1830s from the whigs

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who was the early liberal party heavily influenced by

  • john locke

  • Adam Smith

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what type of liberals were the early liberal party and what freedoms did they believe in

  • classic liberals

  • believed in negative freedoms (freedoms that cannot be impeded on)

  • small government

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what policies did lib pm William Gladstone implement

  • enhancing religious freedom for Catholics

  • uni entry to be based upon merit not patronage

  • married women could own property

  • extended the franchise to more groups

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what was William Gladstones economic policies

  • believd in laissez-faire capitalism , free market capitalism

  • repealed protectionist policies that prevented imports (corn laws)

  • reduced government expenditure

  • reduced taxes

  • advocated for minimal state

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who was Gladstones main political rival how did their ideas differ

  • main rival was Benjamin Disraeli , pioneer of one nation conservatism

  • Gladstone was opposed to Disraeli paternalist onc ideology

  • emphasises people should be independent and self reliant

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how did liberalism change/develop in 20th century

  • it was argued that individual freedom required a basic standard of living

  • freedom wasnt just freedom from gov but freedom from poverty ,illness ect

  • this shifted the focus from negative freedoms to positive freedoms (freedoms the state shld provide and protect)

  • believed the state should intervene in health ,education and labour to make sure equal opportunity

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what were some policies implemented by these modern liberal govs

  • introduced pensions

  • sickness benefits

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what was the aim of the state intervening in such matters

  • to make sure there is equality of opportunity and meritocracy

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what caused the decline of the liberal party

  • the rise of the labour party in the 20th century

  • the party carried on but only had single digit seats by the 50s

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what happened in 1981 that reshaped the liberal party

  • labour moderates broke away from the party and formed the SDP

  • the SDP and liberal party formed an alliance

  • in 1988 the 2 parties merged to form the liberal Democrats

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what had caused the SDP to break away

  • after the loss to thatcher hard left michael foot elected as labour leader

  • adopted policies of nationalisation and nuclear disarmament

  • this alarmed moderates in the party

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how did the SDP-LIB Alliance perform in 1983

  • despite winning 25% of the vote the SDP-LIB alliance only won 23 seats

  • FPTP produces disproportionate outcomes and as the alliances support was widespread but not concentrated it did not translate into seats

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what are classic liberal ideals

  • emphasises individual responsibility and self reliance

  • advocates for minimal economic interference , minimal regulations

  • opposes centralized government power , favouring decenralisation and local gov

  • individual rights best protected by limiting the gov

  • argues wages should be determined by the market

  • supports minimal immigration restriction, supports movement of ppl and goods as the market demands

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what are modern liberal ideals

  • Believe that the state has a responsibility to provide healthcare access to all citizens.

  • Supports policies to reduce barriers to education ensuring equal opportunity

  • Promotes regulation of industries for the protection of consumers and the environment.

  • Believe that government should create programmes to assist disadvantaged groups to increase oppurtunity

  • Supports government-funded education to ensure all individuals have equal opportunities to succeed.

  • Supports social services to enable individuals to fully participate in the workforce.

  • also supports minimal immigrationr restrictions emphasizing movement of labour

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what does it mean that modern liberals believe in an enabling state

the state should actively provide social services and oppurtunities to empower its citizens to reach their potential

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how did the liberal democrats perform in 1992

  • secured 17% , 20 seats due to FPTP

  • began establishing themselves promoting policies of proportional representation , environment protection and increased health and education funding

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how did lib dems do in 1997

  • targeted constituencies they had a strong presence in and cld capaitalise on conservative discontent

  • won 46 seats with 16% of the vote

  • key focus was investment in education

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how did lib dems do in 2001

  • under new leadership of Charles Kennedy

  • won 52 seats , 18% of vote

  • kennedy able to appeal to wider voter base

  • focused on abolishing uni fees attracting young support

  • increased nhs and public services investment

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how lib dems do 2005

  • 62 seats , 22% vote

  • gained surge in popularity due to opposition to 2003 Iraq war

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how lib Dems do 2010

  • new leadership of Nick clegg

  • 57 seats , 23% vote share

  • hung parliament no majority

  • formed coalition with conservatives

23
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what policies did the lib dems achieve as part of the coalition

  • pupil premium , funding to schools for disadvantaged pupils

  • environmental policies

  • same sex marriage

24
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what was the drawbacks on entering the coalition

  • forced to u-turn on their promise of abolishing uni fees , tripled fees up to 9 Grand

  • led to severe loss of trust with their voter base as this had won them many young voters

  • additionally the parties association with the austerity measures taken to fix the budget deficit harmed their perception

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how did the lib dems perform in 2015/17/19

  • 2015 was disatorous , 8 seats , 7% vote

  • tuition fee u turn had severely hurt them

  • campaigned in increased funding for nhs and services but voters skeptical due to coalition austerity measures

  • in 2017 the lib Dems won 12 seats with 7% of the vote

  • in 2019 the party increased its vote share but fell too 11 seats ,leader jo swinson lost her seat

  • in 2019 had campaigned on reversing brexit

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how did the lib Dems perform in 2024 GE

  • ed Davey leader

  • emphasised environment policy , adressing inequality , education funding

  • best seat result , 72 seats , 12% vote

  • did well in conservative seats in south

  • won chichester which had been con seat for over 100 years

  • targeted affluent/middle class voters who usually voted conservative but had become dissatisfied with the gov

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what was the lib Dems view on iraq

lib Dems only major party who were anti Iraq war

Charles Kennedy spoke at stop the war march

28
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what is the ‘orange book’

  • in 2004 the orange book was published by prominet lib figures including Nick clegg and ed Davey

  • these figures worried the party had moved too far to the left

  • advocated for a return to gladstonian liberalism

  • when Nick clegg became leadaer this ideology was in control

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what are some key lib dem pledges 2024 manifesto

  • employ 8,000 more GPs (modern liberalism,state providing welfare and healthcare)

  • scrap the Rwanda scheme

  • net zero by 2045 (modern liberalism , gov must intervene in market to protect environment )

  • triple pupil premium

  • rejoin the single market (classic liberalism , free movement of goods , which is what single market does)

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