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Liberal Party (UK, 1989)
Encyclopedia
The Liberal Party is a United Kingdom
political party. It was formed in 1989 by a group of individuals within the original Liberal Party
who felt that the merger of the party with the Social Democratic Party
, to form the Liberal Democrats
, had ended the spirit of the Liberal Party, claiming that the new Liberal Democrat party was dominated by the Social Democrats.
region for the 2004 European Parliament elections
, and came seventh, with 4.6% of the vote (0.6% of the total British popular vote). Membership is around 200 nationally and attendance at assembly is around a dozen members.
At the 2001 UK general election
, the party came second behind Labour
in Liverpool West Derby, pushing the Liberal Democrats into third place. However, they were unable to repeat this at the 2005 general election
, finishing third behind the Liberal Democrats but still beating the Conservatives
; they repeated this performance at the 2010 general election.
The party president is Steve Radford
and the party chairman is Fran Oborski. The party anthem is The Land
, also popular amongst Liberal Democrats.
The party states that it exists "to build a Liberal Society in which every citizen shall possess liberty, property and security and none shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. Its chief care is for the rights and opportunities of the individual, and in all spheres it sets freedom first."
, at which all party members are entitled to vote. Liberal policies include:
founded in 1859. This claim is disputed, and the dispute centres around events which took place in 1988–89. In that year the old Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party
voted to merge to create a new party, which was initially called the Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD) but later became known just as the Liberal Democrats
.
Initially, at the time of the merger, many members believed that the new party would be broadly a continuation of the Liberals, but as the Liberal Democrats settled down and developed clear policies, some Liberals such as the former Member of Parliament
Michael Meadowcroft
decided that the Liberal Democrats were not the party for them and so in 1989 they set out to re-establish the Liberal Party.
It was legally a new organisation (the headquarters, records, assets and debts of the old party were inherited by the Liberal Democrats), though its constitution asserts it to be the same party as that which had previously existed. (Liberal Democrats dispute this claim citing the 88% of Liberal Party members who voted, were in favour of merger.) Meadowcroft, who had been elected President of the Liberal Party just before the merger took place, now took up that post in the re-founded party. The (new) Liberal Party was refused membership of the Liberal International
, although some of the party’s members take part in LI activities though the British Group of the Liberal International (BGLI).
The re-founded party included a number of councillors and even entire council groups from the pre-1988 party, some of whom continue to be Liberal councillors today. Since then the number of Liberal councillors has fluctuated slightly but has neither risen nor fallen dramatically.
In 2002, the party's first president, Michael Meadowcroft, stepped down from the post and was replaced by Councillor Steve Radford
. In 2007 Meadowcroft joined the Liberal Democrats. In 2009 Radford stood down from the post and was replaced as president of the party by former councillor Rob Wheway
. However, Wheway served only a single year as leader and Radford was re-elected as party president in 2010.
During the 2009 European Parliament election
the Liberal Party's Steve Radford participated in the NO2EU electoral alliance.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
political party. It was formed in 1989 by a group of individuals within the original Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
who felt that the merger of the party with the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
, to form the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, had ended the spirit of the Liberal Party, claiming that the new Liberal Democrat party was dominated by the Social Democrats.
Current
The Liberal Party currently has 25 councillors. It put up a full slate of candidates in the North West EnglandNorth West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
region for the 2004 European Parliament elections
European Parliament election, 2004 (UK)
The European Parliament election, 2004 was the UK part of the European Parliament election, 2004. It was held on 10 June. It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas. It coincided with local and London elections.The Conservative Party...
, and came seventh, with 4.6% of the vote (0.6% of the total British popular vote). Membership is around 200 nationally and attendance at assembly is around a dozen members.
At the 2001 UK general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, the party came second behind Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in Liverpool West Derby, pushing the Liberal Democrats into third place. However, they were unable to repeat this at the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, finishing third behind the Liberal Democrats but still beating the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
; they repeated this performance at the 2010 general election.
The party president is Steve Radford
Steve Radford
Steve Radford is a British politician, and is leader of the Liberal Party.Radford is also a long-standing Liverpool city councillor, representing Tuebrook and Stoneycroft Ward. He is leader of the three-strong Liberal group on Liverpool City Council.Radford has been the Liberal candidate in four...
and the party chairman is Fran Oborski. The party anthem is The Land
The Land (song)
The Land is a protest song, traditionally sung by the Georgist movement in the United Kingdom in pursuit and promotion of land value taxation. Until the late 1970s it was sung at the end of each year's Liberal Assembly and was the party anthem of the Liberal Party until that party merged with the...
, also popular amongst Liberal Democrats.
The party states that it exists "to build a Liberal Society in which every citizen shall possess liberty, property and security and none shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. Its chief care is for the rights and opportunities of the individual, and in all spheres it sets freedom first."
Policies
The Liberal Party's highest policy-making body is its annual conference, the Liberal AssemblyLiberal Assembly
The Liberal Assembly was the annual party conference of the British Liberal Party before its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats; the name is still used by the continuity Liberal Party created as its replacement...
, at which all party members are entitled to vote. Liberal policies include:
- European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
– Whilst the Liberal Party’s constitution commits it to “build a United Europe” and the party’s earlier policies were very EurophileEurophileA europhile is a person who is fond of, admires, or even loves European culture, society, history, food, etc. In politics, it may be used to imply Pro-Europeanism, or support for the European Union, often disapprovingly...
, the Liberal Party took a very EuroscepticEuroScepticEuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
line under Steve Radford's leadership. The new Wheway/Oborski leadership is likely to take a less strident Eurosceptic line. The Liberal Party stated policy is that the EU is in need of fundamental reform, and that to force such reforms the UK may have to threaten to withdraw from the EU; the Liberal Party is opposed to the adoption of the Euro; the party was initially bitterly opposed to referendums, describing them as undemocratic and illiberal, however the party now calls for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. - Sentencing – Imprisonment should only be considered for crimes against the person, or which put persons at risk of physical, psychological or emotional injury; rejection of demands for harsher penalties; an end to the use of prison custody for all young people under 18.
- Drugs – Repeal of legislation regarding the prohibition of drugs and its replacement with an effective strategy of legalisation, regulation and control; taxation of drugs and redirection of criminal justice expenditure to education and treatment services.
- Government – Allowing people to vote at age 16Voting ageA voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election.The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of any age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary...
; the introduction of proportional representation by means of the single transferable voteSingle transferable voteThe single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
; a predominantly elected SenateSenateA senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
to replace the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. - Civil liberties – Establishment of a Bill of rightsBill of rightsA bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
and a written Constitution; opposition to introducing Identity cards. - Foreign policy – Increasing overseas aid to 0.7% of GNP; removing country's veto power at the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
; establish a permanent UN peacekeeping force; the abandonment of the UK's nuclear weapons. - Taxation – Income taxIncome taxAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
to be simplified with earnings under £10,000 to be tax free as a means of encouraging people into work and reducing the need for tax credits; the party proposes a top rate of income tax of 50% on taxable earnings over £100,000; the party advocates a system of 'Universal Inheritance' whereby individuals are paid a £10,000 'inheritance' at the age of 25, to be repaid in the form of a reformed inheritance taxInheritance taxAn inheritance tax or estate tax is a levy paid by a person who inherits money or property or a tax on the estate of a person who has died...
with a starting rate of 10%; the Liberal Party remains committed to Land Value TaxationLand value taxA land value tax is a levy on the unimproved value of land. It is an ad valorem tax on land that disregards the value of buildings, personal property and other improvements...
.
History
The contemporary Liberal Party is claimed by some to be one of Britain's oldest political parties, the Liberal PartyLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
founded in 1859. This claim is disputed, and the dispute centres around events which took place in 1988–89. In that year the old Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
voted to merge to create a new party, which was initially called the Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD) but later became known just as the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
.
Initially, at the time of the merger, many members believed that the new party would be broadly a continuation of the Liberals, but as the Liberal Democrats settled down and developed clear policies, some Liberals such as the former Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Michael Meadowcroft
Michael Meadowcroft
Michael James Meadowcroft is a politician and political affairs consultant in the United Kingdom.He was a Liberal Member of Parliament for Leeds West from 1983 to 1987, and founder of the "continuing" Liberal Party in 1989 following the party's merger with the Social Democratic Party to form the...
decided that the Liberal Democrats were not the party for them and so in 1989 they set out to re-establish the Liberal Party.
It was legally a new organisation (the headquarters, records, assets and debts of the old party were inherited by the Liberal Democrats), though its constitution asserts it to be the same party as that which had previously existed. (Liberal Democrats dispute this claim citing the 88% of Liberal Party members who voted, were in favour of merger.) Meadowcroft, who had been elected President of the Liberal Party just before the merger took place, now took up that post in the re-founded party. The (new) Liberal Party was refused membership of the Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
, although some of the party’s members take part in LI activities though the British Group of the Liberal International (BGLI).
The re-founded party included a number of councillors and even entire council groups from the pre-1988 party, some of whom continue to be Liberal councillors today. Since then the number of Liberal councillors has fluctuated slightly but has neither risen nor fallen dramatically.
In 2002, the party's first president, Michael Meadowcroft, stepped down from the post and was replaced by Councillor Steve Radford
Steve Radford
Steve Radford is a British politician, and is leader of the Liberal Party.Radford is also a long-standing Liverpool city councillor, representing Tuebrook and Stoneycroft Ward. He is leader of the three-strong Liberal group on Liverpool City Council.Radford has been the Liberal candidate in four...
. In 2007 Meadowcroft joined the Liberal Democrats. In 2009 Radford stood down from the post and was replaced as president of the party by former councillor Rob Wheway
Rob Wheway
Rob Wheway is a British politician and member of the Liberal Party. He was President of that party during 2009-2010, and is currently a member of its National Executive Council....
. However, Wheway served only a single year as leader and Radford was re-elected as party president in 2010.
During the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
the Liberal Party's Steve Radford participated in the NO2EU electoral alliance.
See also
- Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990)Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990)The Social Democratic Party is a small political party in the United Kingdom. It traces its origin to the Social Democratic Party that was formed in 1981 by a group of dissident Labour Party politicians, all Members of Parliament or former MPs: Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley...
, the rump successor to the SDP which did not merge into the Liberal Democrats. - LiberalismLiberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
- Contributions to liberal theoryContributions to liberal theoryIndividual contributors to classical liberalism and political liberalism are associated with philosophers of the Enlightenment. Liberalism as a specifically named ideology begins in the late 18th century as a movement towards self-government and away from aristocracy...
- Liberalism worldwideLiberalism worldwideThis article gives information on liberalism in diverse countries around the world. It is an overview of parties that adhere more or less to the ideas of political liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world....
- List of liberal parties
- Liberal democracyLiberal democracyLiberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
- Liberalism in the United KingdomLiberalism in the United KingdomThis article gives an overview of liberalism in the United Kingdom. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in that scheme...
- Liberal AssemblyLiberal AssemblyThe Liberal Assembly was the annual party conference of the British Liberal Party before its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats; the name is still used by the continuity Liberal Party created as its replacement...
External links
- The Liberal Party (official website)
- The Liverpool Liberal Party
- Peterborough Liberals
- The Liberal Party Southampton
- The Wyre Forest Liberals
- Thirsk and Malton Liberals
- Liberal Forum unofficial web forum for party supporters.
- Liberal Agenda promotes liberalism in the U.K and membership involvement in the U.K.Liberal Party.
- Catalogue of the Liberal Party 1989 papers at LSE Archives