Origins: Classical Liberalism

Origins: Classical Liberalism

• Liberal Democratic Party establishment in 1988 and formed from 2 parties - Liberal party and SDP (who split from Labour in 1981) and campaigned together as the Alliance

• The Liberal party formed in 1850s when it split from the conservative party and came together over the issue of free trade

• Michael Foot (1979-83) pushed Labour to the left following Thatchers comfortable defeat of Labour in 1979, and in the 1983 GE his manifesto committed to further nationalisation, increased taxation, withdrawal from the EEC and unilateral nuclear disarmament. This push to the left caused many to split from Labour and form the SDP. This led to Labour being divided and they got smashed at the next election (they only got 27% of the vote). Labour MP Kaufman described the manifesto as the “longest suicide note in history”

What are the classic liberal values and what were the examples under Gladstone?

• Classical liberal values emphasise:

1) individual autonomy

2) limited government

3) Economic freedom, Political freedom and Freedom of speech

• Values under Gladstone: (had 4 periods as PM)

Free trade, lower taxes, balanced budgets, parliamentary and administrative reform, moral approach to policy.

Modern Liberalism: what influenced it and what did it lead to

-New liberalism believes that individual freedoms require at least a basic standard of living (This led to the introduction of old-age pensions and sickness and unemployment insurance under Asquith: 1908-1916)

• this was due to the increasing influence at the start of the 20th century by T.H Green, John Hobson and William Beveridge, who believed that government must have adequate welfare provision for the vulnerable in society.

• Rise of the Labour Party led to competition with the Liberals and after the 1922 resignation of David Lloyd George, Labour took over in popularity

Modern Liberalism: 2000s and onwards

After becoming the Lib Dem’s, there was an increase in their growing success.

• Charles Kennedys opposition to Iraq War contributed to 62 seats in parliament and 22% vote in the 2005 GE

• 2010 party led by Clegg, where support dipped to 57 seats but Cameron needed support to form govt so they entered coalition government.

• Coalition govt - they had 5 seats in cabinet and Clegg was the deputy PM (most influential since 1922 - when Labour took over in popularity following David Lloyd George’s resignation)

Modern Liberalism: Recent Leaders

Clegg(2007-15):

• Built on Kennedys success, but suffered huge losses in the 2015 election following the student tuition fees promise being broken and strategic voting from society

Tim Farron(2015-2017)

• Election campaign taken over by questions about his conservative Christian beliefs about abortion and homosexuality

• 2017 election - 12 seats

Vince Cable(2017-2019)

• originally said he’d lead the party until Brexit was “resolved or stopped”

• Then decided it would take longer than expected so he’d resign after the 2019 European election to retire

• In May 2019, Cable led LibDems to their best electoral performance since the 2010 election, gaining 15 seats in European Parliament election

Jo Swinson(July 2019-December 2019)

• 2019 GE - promised to revoke article 50 and cancel Brexit

• Resigned after she lost her seat in 2019 election

• Party rules disqualified her from continuing as leader

Ed Davey(2020-present)

• used publicity stunts to gain attention in the 2024 election campaign (bungee jumping off a crane)

• 2024 GE - highest ever number of seats and the highest number of seats for a third party since 1923 (72 seats)

Current Party Factions

1) Orange Book Liberals

• traditional liberal values of the free market and the withdrawal of the state from excessive interference with a focus on individual liberties (Clegg, Davey)

2) Social Liberals

• Policies concerning social justice, with wealth distribution through taxation and welfare provision (Swinson, Farron)

Core principles of consensus:

• internationalism (advocates from greater political/economic cooperation among member states and nations) and constitutional reform

Recent Elections (Stance on EU)

2019 - Pledge to rejoin EU (Swinson)

2021 - Davey acknowledges we’d not rejoin the EU, but pledges “the closest possible relationship with our European partners”

Also committed to continued membership of the ECHR to protect civil liberties

2024 - Improve trade relations with EU and eventually rejoin the single market

Policies: Constitutional Reform

• Democratic House of Lords

• Further devolution

• Proportional Representation in Commons

Policies: Economy

• increase income tax by 1p and spending £7B raised on NHS

• Investment £150B on green infrastructure over 3 years

• Reverse tax cuts for banks and reform capital gains

Policies: Welfare

• restore uni maintenance grants to encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply

• Free childcare for preschool kids

• Protect state pension triple lock

• Remove 2 child cap on child benefits

• Free adult personal care and more support for carers

Policies: Law and order

• support for community policing to discourage crime and emphasise preventative approach

• Legislation of cannabis- through the continued influence of John Stuart Mill and the ‘self-harm’ principle (only justification for infringing the liberties of an individual is to prevent harm to others)

• More resources to prosecute ‘hate crimes’

Policies: Foreign Policy

• internationalist value-want a close relationship with EU

• Moral principles- have a commitment to not cut overseas aid but they support nuclear deterrent and NATO membership (necessary for security)

2024 Election Campaign: What contributed to its success?

Conservative failures, election tactics or manifesto pledges?

• Davey widely ridiculed for raising profile of party with series of stunts (paddle boarding, theme park ride, bungee jumping)

• He insisted the point behind his light hearted campaign style was to raise the profile of his party which often is ignored by the media and highlight issues like water pollution which mattered to voters.

• Gained support for his policy on carers when he talked publicly about his challengers looking after his disabled son.

Conservative seats taken by Lib Dem

• Davey’s decision to focus resources on a defined number of target seats, bulk of them held by the conservatives, paid off.

• Failed to oust Jeremy Hunt in his Surrey seat (falling short by fewer than 1000 votes)

• Other ultra safe seats fell as well, such as Stratford-on-Avon