The Liberal Democrats Flashcards
Describe liberalism
- comes from the Enlightenment of the 18th century at a time when absolute power lay with a small elite at the top
- seeks to promote freedom of the individual above everything else
- “Freedom is the main virtue in life” - John Locke
- promotes freedom of conscience, speech, religion, lifestyle, political association & finally, economic freedom, that is an economy free from excessive government control
Define Enlightenment
- a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasising reason & individualism rather than tradition
- heavily influenced by 17th century philosophers
Key quote for liberalism
“I am a Liberal because Liberalism seems to mean faith in the people, confidence that they will manage their own affairs far better than those affairs are likely to be managed for them by others.” Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Suffragist & education reformer
Describe the earliest origins of liberal parties
- in the 1850’s Whigs & radicals supported reform on the Parliament & limits on the royal authority
- they wanted to extend the right to vote & abolish slavery
Describe the origins of liberal parties during the 19th century
- classical liberals, dominant in the 19th century, emphasised freedom of the individual, constitutional reform, a minimal role for the state & free trade
- William Gladstone was PM 1868-74, 1880-85, 1886 & 1892-94
What is “constitutional reform”?
- the means by which changes are made to the way that the UK is governed
- it can include devolution, reform to the House of Lords & changes to the way to judiciary works
Define devolution
the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration
Explain the significance of William Gladstone in relation to the origin of liberal parties
under the leadership of William Gladstone the party became a dominant force in British politics & began to advocate for things like free trade, lower taxes, balanced budgets, parliamentary & administrative reform & a moral approach to foreign policy (in favour in keeping foreign relations high & positive)
Describe origins of liberal parties during the 1980s
- the Liberal Party joined forces in an alliance with the Social Democratic Party (a breakaway group from Labour)
- moderate policies, did well in elections in terms of share of the vote, but failed to win significant numbers of seats due to the first-past-the-post voting system
What is Modern Liberalism?
acceptance of civil liberties, the free market, limited government, it also acknowledges that the government should play an important role in advancing social justice
Describe modern liberalism
- modern liberalism began in the Edwardian era (early 1900s) as a way of discouraging working class people from supporting Labour
- sought to improve society through social reforms like old age pensions like old age pensions & National Insurance
- equality needed to be enforced by governments in order to bring about real freedom
- modern liberals also pursued moderate redistribution of income & resources in order to try and level the playing field; they were not in favour however as going as far as Labour & the Socialists
- modern (or Social) liberalism is now the dominant strand in the Liberal Democrat’s
Describe the Liberal Democrats influence from 1988-present
- the Liberal Democrats emerged in 1988 following a merger between the Social Democratic Party (SDP - a break away party from Labour) & and the old Liberal Party
- when Labour won power in 1997, the Lib Dems took 46 seats, their highest number since the 1920s; tactical voting (where people who hated the Conservatives voted for the candidate in their constituency best placed to defeat the Conservative candidate) played a huge part in their success
- policies such as opposition to the war in Iraq, university tuition fees & increased powers for the police represented a more left-wing agenda
- in 2010, the Lib Dems entered into a coalition with the Conservative Party; it was the most influence they had enjoyed in government since 1922 - as Nick Clegg became deputy Prime Minister
- in the 2015 general election they were reduced to under 8% of the vote & just 8 seats in parliament (down from 57); this improved slightly in 2017
Describe the factions within the Liberal Democrats
- there are at least 2 factions within the party
- these include social/modern liberals & classical liberals
Describe social or modern liberals within the party
- they make up the majority of the party
- in the coalition, the Lib Dems brought a more socially liberal element to the government, with policies like same-sex marriage now becoming mainstream
Describe classical liberals within the party
- also known as ‘The Orange Book’ group, which is smaller, have centre-right views on economic management & favour a more classical liberal approach
- they are represented by people like Nick Clegg & David Laws
