Liberal Idea And Policies Today Flashcards
What are the factions within liberal Democratic Party
Orange book liberals and social liberals
What are the core ideas of orange book liberals
- traditional liberal values of free market
- individual Liberties
- removal of the state from excessive interference
What is the core ideas of the social liberals ?
- policies of social justice
- wealth redistribution from rich to poor by taxation and welfare provision
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today
With the covid 19 pandemic what happened to the Liberal Democrat leadership contest ?
Liberal Democrat leadership contest was delayed and the party was run on a temporary Co-leadership basis so party was at an uncertain position with lack of clear direction
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today
By the end of 2020 who become liberal Democratic leader and attempted to steer the party in a new direction ?
Ed Davey
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today
What are the policies/ideas of liberals ?
- The economy
- Law and order
- The European Union
- Foreign policies
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today : economy
What is the Liberal Democrat view on economic management
Pragmatic (practical) on economic management
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today : economy
Example of the Liberal Democrat economic management ?
- goverment budget planning should not favour one section of society over another
- in times of economic recession poor should be protected and the wealth with tight economic policies
- taxation should be fair and based on ability to pay and redistribute from rich to poor
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today : economy
Policies introduced by Liberal Democrat’s in 2019 that help the economy
- 1p-in-the-pound tax increase to help fund the NHS and policy of the childcare for all 2-4 year olds
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today
What is the Liberal Democrat opinion of the European Union ?
- preferred the UK to stay inside the EU
- 2019 election manifesto “stop Brexit”
- protect and maintain freedom of movement,
- safeguarding the rights of UK citizens living elsewhere in the EU and EU citizens in the UK.
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today
Liberal Democrat’s and welfare
- 2019 pledge to increase number of teachers in England by 20,000
- this would encourage work , fair , favouring those who cannot support themselves especially single parents
- health and education key priority
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today
Liberal Democrat on foreign policies
- support NATO and its aim (to protect people and territories of members)
- suspicious of excessive interference by UK in conflict abroad
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today
What did they strongly abandon in regards to foreign policy ?
Renewal of the trident nuclear submarine missile system
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today
What did Lib Dem’s strongly support in terms of foreign policy
International aid and international conflict settled though the United nation rather than direct military intervention
Liberal Democrat ideas and policies today
The SDP merged with liberals, combining values of moderate labour with liberalism to become a centralist party,
What is the current principles of Liberal Democrat ?
- social justice
- personal liberty e.g gender self identification, decriminalisation of cannabis
- internationalism (eventually joining the EU )
What did the liberal dems use to overturn a huge conservatives majority in 2021 Chesham and Amersham by-election ?
Nimbyism
What is nimbyism ?
‘Not my backyard’ a form of protest against local development
The liberal dems used nimbyism to overturn a huge conservatives majority in the 2021 Chesham and Amersham by-election by doing what ?
By protesting against the HS2 rail programme being dug there
Liberal Democrat’s use nimbyism to overturn what ?
2021 Chesham and Amersham by-election
For the past 3 years since 2021 the Lib Dem’s has beaten the conservatives in by elections , not only by focusing on local issues but what other reason ?
Corruption and sleaze of the Conservative Party and the departing MPS resigning due to this
Example of corruption and sleaze of the Conservative Party
In 2021, Boris Johnson the PM was dodging the question of how he paid for his £20,000 for refurbishment of his 10 Downing Street flat
What was Boris Johnson breaking and how is he pay for his 200,000 refurbishment leading to corruption ?
By conservatives peer and donor and was clearly breaking ministerial code
Example of liberal dems and conservative forming a goverment (coalition) , the liberal dems encouraging principles of individual freedom ?
- Marriage (same sex couple) act in 2013
Example demonstrating reformist and meritocratic credentials of Lib Dem and conservatives coalition party
Party did a Forced referendum on the alternative voting system to choose method of electing MPs at general elections
Why did the liberal democrats build momentum only to see their support fall of a cliff ?
Partly to do with UK first past the post voting system
How does first past the post work ?
Candidates win a plurality of needing to be the most popular than gaining overall majority and system rely on concentrated geographical support so no reward for coming second and the winner represents the entire seat no matter how how small margin of victory
For the FPTP there is no reward for coming second as winner present entire seats so what does this mean for votes ?
Votes are wasted on parties unlikely to win so better to vote tactically for the incumbent or nearest rival
Why did the SNP do better than Lib Dem’s in 2015
Because their voters were geographically concentrated in Scotland
The Lib Dem’s gained a quarter of the voters but voting system significantly reduced the proportion of seats in parliament
When do the Liberal Democrat perform well ?
- When two main parties labour and conservatives
- e.g Blair third way merging into Thatcherism into labour policy and crowding the centre of the political spectrum
Might assume that parties better perform when parties are different in their ideologies but why is this false ?
Jeremy Corbyn and May in 2017 so Lib Dem would provide choice for voters as centre party but due to FPTP voters seen choice as waste
Why does the liberal dems do better when labour and conservatives have similar views ?
Because they become a protest vote as similar party manifesto means I does not matter who they vote for so those unwilling to vote for the usual opposition party are given decisions to protest with the lib dems
The greater the alignment of labour and conservatives policy , what does this mean and give example of alignment of labour and conservatives policy ?
Greater the Lib Dem’s chances , e.g keir starmer’s cutrent economic policy
Why will the Lib Dem’s be likely to double, triple their current number of seats in the next general election
As they are likely to target specific constituencies so libs can hold the balance of power
Examples of the Scottish national party and what they have done well ?
- 2015 general election , they won 56 out of the 59 Westminster seats offered in Scotland
Persuading David Cameron to allow a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014
