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Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats. British political party founded in 1988 from the merging of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Liberal Party, following the disappointing performance of the two parties' alliance at the 1987 general election. The tortuous and mismanaged negotiations, the failure to agree on a party name, and the existence of a rump ‘continuing SDP’ led by David Owen ensured that the early years of the party were dogged by low opinion poll ratings and bad local, European, and by-election results. The 6.4 per cent vote achieved at the 1989 European election was worse than any Liberal showing since 1959.
The increasing popularity of party leader Paddy Ashdown (especially following television performances during the Gulf War) enabled the Liberal Democrats to recoup much of the support that had been lost. At the general election of 1997 the party fought on a promise to raise income tax by a penny to be spent on education, and did well, returning 46 MPs. They obtained an element of proportional representation in the system for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, where they joined Labour in a governing pact. In 2001, led by Charles Kennedy, they increased their Westminster numbers to 52 and raised their numbers to 62 in 2005. Christopher N. Lanigan |
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JOHN CANNON. "Liberal Democrats." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Liberal Democrats." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-LiberalDemocrats.html JOHN CANNON. "Liberal Democrats." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-LiberalDemocrats.html |
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Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats A British political party that adopted this name in 1989. The party, which was formed in 1988, was formerly known as the Social and Liberal Democrats. The Social and Liberal Democrats were a merger of the social democratic party (SDP) and the LIBERAL PARTY. The SDP itself was established by four dissident members of the Labour Party ( Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams, and William Rodgers), known as the ‘gang of four’. As a new centre party, the SDP under David Owen's leadership, formed an alliance with the Liberal Party. However, after a poor showing in the 1987 election, the SDP voted to merge with the Liberal Party, forming the Social and Liberal Democrats under the leadership of Robert Maclennan. David Owen attempted to revive a reduced SDP in 1988 but wound it up in 1990.
Paddy Ashdown (1941– ), leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999 managed to substantially increase the number of Liberal Democrat MPs in the 1997 election. Ashdown was succeeded as leader by Charles Kennedy (1959– ). |
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"Liberal Democrats." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Liberal Democrats." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-LiberalDemocrats.html "Liberal Democrats." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-LiberalDemocrats.html |
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Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats British political party created in 1988 by the merger of the Liberal party with the Social Democratic party ; the party was initially called the Social and Liberal Democratic party. The Social Democratic party, which was formed in 1981 by politically centrist members of the Labour party , joined with the Liberals in 1981 in an electoral alliance, and in 1983 they won 23 seats in the House of Commons. In 1987 the alliance won 22 seats, and the next year the parties merged. In the 2001 and 2005 parliamentary elections the Liberal Democrats won 52 and 62 seats respectively. The 2005 result was the largest number won by the group since the predecessor Liberals gained 158 seats in 1924. Although the party lost several seats in the 2010 elections (despite increasing its overall share of the vote), it entered the government in coalition with the Conservatives, who had secured only a plurality. Nonetheless, the party remains something of a minor party in British politics, its centrist position threatened by Tony Blair 's movement of the Labour party away from socialist positions in the 1990s and David Cameron 's moderation of the Conservative party in the 2000s. Its ability to win seats also has been hampered by Britain's lack of proportional representation. Although the party secured a referendum on an alternative voting method through its participation in a coalition with the Conservatives, voters rejected the proposal in 2011. Nick Clegg has been party leader since Dec., 2007. |
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"Liberal Democrats." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Liberal Democrats." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-LibDems.html "Liberal Democrats." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-LibDems.html |
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Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats (UK) The popular short name for the Social and Liberal Democrats. It was formed by the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party in 1988, when it came under the leadership of Paddy Ashdown. Its life began badly, as it gained only 5 per cent of the vote in the European elections in 1989; but, after consistently achieving higher ratings in local elections, and in parliamentary by-elections, the party recovered to gain 18 per cent in the 1992 general election. The party is often seen as a centre party because of its commitment to a mixed economy. However, it was also committed to more radical policies such as constitutional reform, a federal Europe, and environmental protection. The party has been led by Charles Kennedy from 1999, and under his leadership the party increased yet further its representation in Westminster. In the 2001 elections, the Liberal Democrats obtained 52 seats.
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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Liberal Democrats." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "Liberal Democrats." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-LiberalDemocrats.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "Liberal Democrats." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-LiberalDemocrats.html |
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Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats (LD) (officially Social and Liberal Democrats) British political party formed in March 1988 by the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Its first leader (1988–99) was Paddy Ashdown. In the 1998 elections, it returned 20 MPs. The smallest of the three main political parties, it vigorously campaigned for proportional representation (PR). In the 1997 and 2001 general elections, they returned 46 MPs and 52 MPs respectively. Charles Kennedy succeeded Ashdown in 1999.
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"Liberal Democrats." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Liberal Democrats." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-LiberalDemocrats.html "Liberal Democrats." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-LiberalDemocrats.html |
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Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats British political party founded in 1988 from the merging of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Liberal Party, following the disappointing performance of the two parties' alliance at the 1987 general election. The increasing popularity of party leader Paddy Ashdown enabled the Liberal Democrats to recoup much of the support that had been lost. The party, with a strong commitment to Europe, won 46 seats at the general election of 1997.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Liberal Democrats." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Liberal Democrats." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-LiberalDemocrats.html JOHN CANNON. "Liberal Democrats." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-LiberalDemocrats.html |
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