UK Politics - Political Parties Flashcards
What are the functions of political parties?
- Have several functions, but they mainly seek to win office and hold power, done by holding a set of beliefs that translate into specific policies - although the ideologies of the main parties have not changed much over time, policy has constantly been reinterpreted
- Conservative Party was traditionally a patriotic party, which moved from strong support for the British Empire to Euroscepticism and wariness of EU sovereignty
- The Labour party has traditionally been the party of the working classes and wealth redistribution, and this has become a message of social justice
- Parties cannot stand still and fossilise, but they also cannot become mere opportunistic vote-gathering machines
The origins of the Conservative Party
- The modern Conservative party dates from 1834
- It is the most successful modern British political party being in government for approximately two-thirds of the period since 1900.
- It initially drew it’s core support from the landed aristocracy
- Core principles included defence of the privileges of the Church of England and opposition to political reform.
- The development of the party can be broken down into four main strands, all of which have left an imprint on the Conservative party of the 21st century.
1) One-nation conservatism
2) Butskellite pragmatism and consensus
3) Traditional values
4) Thatcherism
Conservative strand 1 - One-nation Conservatism
- This is commonly associated with Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.
- It focuses on the duty of those with power and privilege to use this wisely and unite the nation by way of moderate social reforms and patriotism. It represented a form of pragmatic self-interested paternalism, which Disraeli summed up with the words ‘the palace is not safe when the cottage is not happy’.
- Echoes of one-nation conservatism were seen in David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ and in
Boris Johnson’s: ‘members of our new one-nation government, a people’s government’ - embraced the state protecting the vulnerable through public services, without penalising the rich with high income tax rates or seeking to dismantle free market capitalism and significantly redistribute wealth. - Privilege and wealth inequality are fine and natural but with them comes duty and responsibility
Conservative party strand 2 - Butskellite Pragmatism and Consensus
Butskellite -
- Term used to describe the postwar consensus between Labour and the Conservatives that endured until the 1970s. It was named after Rab Butler, a leading Conservative politician in the 1950s and Hugh Gaitskell, Labour leader between 1955-1963.
What impact did Labour’s 1945 election victory and the establishment of the Welfare State have on the Conservative party?
- They shifted further from the centre and accepted the bulk of Labour’s social reforms.
What happened to politics throughout the 1950s and 60s?
- There were large areas of consensus in many key policy areas between Labour and Conservatives.
How did Butskellite conservatism impact views regarding Europe?
- It was a pro-European outlook, and this lead to Conservatives being keen to join the European Economic Community or Common Market - Heath, a Conservative Prime Minister, led the UK into the EEC in 1973, whilst Eurosceptics were more generally located in the Labour benches, despite Labour PM Wilson attempting to negotiate the UK’s entry in 1967.
Conservative strand 3 - Traditional Values
What are the traditional values which the Conservative party supports?
- Supporting the traditional nuclear family and the institution of marriage, as well as maintaining a firm line on immigration policy.
Where can echoes of these traditional values be seen?
- John Major: Back to Basics speech; self-discipline, respect for the law, consideration to others, accepting responsibility for yourself and your family an not shuffling it off on other people and the state
- Section 28: Banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools (1988).
- Theresa May: Promise as Home Secretary to create a ‘hostile environment’ for illegal immigrants.
- Sunday Trading: Opposition to this and its extension - a Tory backbench revolt in 2016 derailed attempts to relax the Sunday Trading hours.
- Enoch Powell and the ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech: Critics have implicated this type of conservatism as embracing elements of racism.
Conservative strand 4 - Thatcherism
- Based on Pragmatism and ‘good sense’ alongside a suspicion of revolutionary and radical ideas.
When did Thatcherism come to dominate the Conservative party and with whom is it most closely associated?
- Came to dominate throughout the 1980s and 1990s associated mostly with Thatcher and it was a far more ideological outlook than previous forms of conservatism and represented conviction over compromise.
What did Thatcher see herself on a crusade to achieve? (for individuals and government)
- Individual freedom, especially economic, to slay the ‘dragons’ of overly powerful trade unions and to emphasise self-help and personal responsibility. The aim was to roll back the frontiers of the state, denationalise most government-owned industries and encourage council tenants to buy their own houses. This was to be accompanied by lower taxes, particularly on income.
What did Thatcher achieve in 1984-5:
- After the prolonged and bitter miner’s strike Thatcher’s government broke the power of the one of the country’s most powerful trade unions, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), a feat which had eluded previous Prime Minister’s, including her predecessor Heath.
In what ways was Thatcher’s foreign policy more assertive:
- The Falklands War: oversaw victory in 1982
- Cold War: Worked closely with Ronald Reagan and the US
- European Union: Won a hard-fought financial rebate from the EU, while also sowing the seeds for more recent Tory Euroscepticism. Her famous 1988 Bruges speech stated that ‘We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of state in Britain to see them reimposed at a European level’. She was a strong advocate of the European single market.
What is the modern conservative party like?
Led by Cameron, May and Johnson, contains elements of all 4 strands of conservatism, which can be seen through the 2019 manifesto (Get Brexit Done - Unleash Britain’s Potential)
Manifesto pledges:
- Extra funding for the NHS, with 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more GP surgery appointments per year; associated with the Butskellite consensus - acceptance and expansion of a key plank of the Welfare State
- 20,000 additional police officers and tougher sentencing - traditional values conservatism
- An Australian style points-based system to control immigration - traditional values
- A promise not to raise the rate of income tax, VAT or National Insurance - Thatcherism
- Get Brexit done and remove the power of institutions such as the European Court of Justice - One Nation conservatism / Thatcherism - strong emphasis on the sovereignty of the nation state
- Maintain the triple lock on pensions - One Nation
- Make Britain a world leader in tackling plastics pollution and creating an independent Office for Environmental Protection - arguably, tackling climate change and environmental issues is a mixture of Butskellite consensus and one nation
- Keep the minimum voting age at 18 - traditional values
- Everyone who can work, should work, continue the rollout of Universal Credit and crack down on benefit fraud - Thatcherism; belief in self-help, reducing the welfare dependency culture
Divisions in the Conservative Party
- Before the 2019 election, Europe and the European Union was the main fracture line of the party, with successive Tory leaders by the division between Leavers, Remainers, Eurosceptics and Europhiles - through the 2016 referendum, Cameron looked to settle the issue
- However, the narrow Leave victory only led to deeper division as opposing factions of the party fought over the terms of any negotiated deal, and May attempted to placate both sides but saw rejection of her deals on several occasions in the Commons and she had a record number of ministerial resignations
- The emphatic victory of Johnson in 2019 began the end of this division
- Conservatives have also been divided over social issues - a majority of his own MPs rejected Cameron’s bill to legalise same-sex marriage in 2013, and it only passed because of support from opposition parties
The development of the Labour party
- The Labour party can trace its origins back to the Farringdon Street Conference of 1900
- The early Labour party was an alliance between the trade union movement and socialist groups
- Its initial aim was the independent representation in parliament of the working man
- The party formally assumed a socialist position in 1918 with the adoption of Clause IV
- Clause IV was a commitment to nationalisation of industry, the abolition of capitalism and a key redistribution of wealth
- Although this was the language of communism and revolution, the Labour Party has always been a parliamentary and constitutional political movement
- It did not advocate violent revolution but change from within
- The modern Labour party is the sum of several principles and values with the inevitable internal tensions and factionalism
The origins of the Labour Party
- 1900 conference between trade union representatives and socialists, and looked to represent the working class
- Driven by ethical appeal of socialism
- New movement in politics, inspired by unions and idealism - leaflets and slips were given out, with sub slogans such as workers of the world unite, and socialism - the way of the world
- Young trade union representatives were avid supporters of the Independent Labour Party, and gave up weekends to support socialist messaging - this was viewed as a threat to the power of the upper classes and the union of the large section of the working class population was frightening
ILP - political union of socialists and trade unions - View of securing better representation of the interests of labour in the House of Commons, and asked the committee to invite working class organisations for the securing of an increased amount of Labour representatives in the Commons - small majority gave a push for representation; 1900 conference was the point of formation for the Labour party, and the trade unions joined with the 3 socialist societies of the ILP, Social Democrat Federation and the Fabians
- The delegates of the different parties and unions decided that class prejudice should not make them prisoners - working men are not the only people who can represent the working class; new party recognises the class war with socialism as they aim
- Policy looked to embrace cooperation and promoting legislation that benefited the working class - Labour Representation Committee that represented the different factions of socialism including the unions, Fabians, SDF and ILP
- McDonald - appointment as secretary of the Committee and saw possibilities of the new movement, and organised a Labour party to grow from this and gain affiliation with the trade unions
- Aimed to have annual conferences to get representation of Labour - the party struggled initially to be unified due to the range of unions and groups, and the argument over the background of their MPs
Labour from 1945 onwards
- 1945 Labour Party Conference - a young military man, Healey, stated the new campaign for socialism
- An election held after V-Day; forced by his Labour coalition to allow the socialist say
Clement Attlee was the Labour leader at the time; Churchill struggled over and over again to appeal to his voters on his campaign trail and had no connection to the modern world - The Labour Party won the election with a majority of 200 seats, with the aim to create a new Britain; established council housing, NHS, welfare state, free education - aim of socialism is to give greater freedom to the individual
Branches of the Labour Party - Economic Socialism
What did Clement Atlee’s post war Labour government establish?
First majority Labour government - established the welfare state.
What industries were taken into state ownership?
Coal mining, iron and steel and even the former travel agent Thomas Cook.
What industries were nationalised in 1977?
Major parts of shipbuilding and aerospace industries.
What happened to these industries during the Thatcher years? (bonus point - what is this policy known as?)
The advent of the Thatcher years saw all of these industries be sold and privatised, with Blair and Brown choosing to renationalise them.
What did Jeremy Corbyn’s 2017 & 2019 Labour manifestos promise?
Partial renationalisation of these services.
What does Labour’s commitment to nationalisation reflect?
Historic pledge to redistribute wealth for the many not the few, and to put people before profit
What have the elections of Corbyn and Starmer shown about Labour’s position?
Marked a clear shift towards a more left-wing position under Corbyn and a return to the centre with Starmer.
Branches of the Labour Party - Trade Unionism
What key workers rights is the Labour party expected to protect and advance?
The right to strike and trade union recognition in the workplace.
How did Trade Unions support the Labour party?
Supplied the bulk of Labour’s funding, sponsored some MPs and had seats in the national ruling executive.
How did the influence of Trade Unions shift in the 1980s and 90s?
It waned due to deindustrialisation and a shift in the economy away from manufacturing to a far less unionised service sector.
What reforms did the Conservatives introduce in the 1980s to weaken the power of Trade Unions?
Designed to make unions more democratic and so this made industrial action harder to take, therefore weakening their powers of protest.
How has Trade Union influence been affected by the following Labour leaders?
Blair/Brown: Did not reverse the Conservative reforms - weakened unions
Corbyn: Unions enjoyed increased influence and access to the leadership. Unite’s general secretary, McCluskey, was particularly close to Corbyn.
Starmer: Union influence has again been reduced under Starmer.
Branches of the Labour Party -Global Internationalism
What has Labour’s long term position on global conflict been?
Commitment to peace and disarmament alongside resisting fascism and racism worldwide. Ramsey McDonald, Labour’s first Prime Minister, remained a pacifist during the First World War.
Give examples of how this commitment has been shown throughout the 20th century.
- First World War: McDonald remained a pacifist.
- Nuclear Weapons: Grassroots movement opposed to nuclear weapons and advocating nuclear disarmament, briefly embracing this policy officially
- Right-wing dictatorships: Fighting alongside Republicans during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) or campaigning against apartheid in South Africa
How do Labour’s policies on internationalism link to their views on socialism and destroying nationalism?
- They promote a need for workers to show solidarity across national boundaries, with socialists viewing nationalism as a pretext for preserving the capitalist status quo and distracting the masses from revolutionary consciousness.
How do many in the modern Labour movement feel about Europe?
- This attitude is however revised in support of European integration with a strong emphasis on protecting worker’s rights across the EU.
How did Tony Blair weaken this strand of the Labour party? Give a detailed answer.
- His close relationship with George Bush, the Republican president and his support for the ‘War on terror’ with the accompanying military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan produced deep divisions in the party and large scale backbench rebellions. Blair was pronounced a warmonger by many on the left.
What did Jeremy Corbyn’s election as party leader show and what results did this have?
- Disenchantment with Blair’s ‘Third-Way socialism’ was reflected in Corbyn’s election, as he was a more left wing leader and this led to a swing into more left wing politics for Labour in 2015. This aided Labour in the 2017 election where there was a gain of votes and seats, but the party’s defeat in 2019 led to a resignation of Corbyn as leader and the election of Starmer in 2020, a more mainstream Labour figure and a more centrist stance
Branches of the Labour Party - Third Way Socialism / New Labour
When was the era of ‘New Labour’?
1997 to 2010; it reflected the same help and hindrance that Thatcher’s revolutionary creed had on the Conservatives.
What did Tony Blair intend with his ‘New Labour’ movement? Give a detailed answer.
He intended to modernise and update Labour and move it to the centre ground of electability following its shift to the left under Michael Foot in the 1980s. The emphasis was on triangulation; repositioning Labour in the centre ground, accepting many of the Thatcherite economic policies but retaining Labour’s social values such as justice and fairness for all.
How did Labour shift their position on how social justice would be achieved?
There was less concern about who owned industry and far more emphasis on how profits could be put to good use and achieve an end goal of social justice. More money was pumped into the NHS and education (‘Education, education, education’).
What changes did Blair make to education?
Oversaw the demise of what his key adviser Alastair Campbell called the ‘bog-standard comprehensive’ and instead they focused on specialist schools and colleges outside the direct control of local authorities.
What other key areas did New Labour focus on?
Elimination of child poverty.
How was the Labor party split over Blair’s ‘New Labour’ policies?
This amounted to pragmatic common sense and electoral success for some in the party, with Blair winning 3 consecutive general elections due to his New Labour policies, unprecedented for a Labour leader, but to others his Third Way was a sell-out and a betrayal, with one of his most critical and rebellious backbencher being Jeremy Corbyn.
How far did New Labour ideologically drift from the roots of Labour? - The divisions during Thatcher
Why did the Labour Party split in the early 80s and what were the consequences?
- The social democrats were largely the party of Labour before this time, but the result of Thatcher’s election signified a move to the left with the Democratic Socialists, and the ‘Gang of Four’ left to create the Social Democratic Party, and Foot created a more radical left wing manifesto including increasing income taxes and nuclear disarmament- the divide split the left wing vote, and gave the conservatives a key majority.
How did the UK’s post-industrial society and the pressures of globalisation influence New Labour?
- Living standards have improved and greatly helped post-war reforms and the welfare service, and so the working class could not be relied upon alone - increased globalisation and international competition created greater pressure to make the Uk economy more competitive. Centre left figures argued that high taxes and strict labour laws would not be effective as they would simply move it to another company, and a skilled workforce was more of a priority - Neil Kinnock expelled the wing of Militant Tendency and focused on ideological policy and centrists Labour, as did Blair and Smith rebranding the party
How far did New Labour ideologically drift from the roots of Labour? - Blair
What was Tony Blair’s ‘Third Way’?
- The combination of thatcherism and socialism with a focus on social justice and economic efficient 0 the aims of socialism were retained but the methods were different, declining class divide, greater quality but instead of nationalisation get privatisation, low taxes not high and retain the free market - economy left to business; created a new political consensus. This was a consensus known as the post-thatcherite consensus, and their approach was to use the profits of the free market to enforce the economy - people could get rich
How did Blair change Clause IV of the Labour Party constitution?
- The need for the enterprise of the market and competition to provide the wealth the nation needs. The New Labour looked to find a Third Way
What did New Labour promise ahead of the ‘97 General Election?
- Promised to keep to the taxation of the previous government and increase public spending by allocating resources better - ran a surplus budget by bringing in more money than was being spent - 418 seat majority showed the popularity of this policy. They cut corporation tax, expanded privatisation and outsourced private companies who competed for contracts. Also used public finance initiatives and then rent these back to the taxpayers - argued as the best way to expand infrastructure without excessive borrowing, and creating a more successful private sector which was more efficient as a buy now pay later promise
The policies of New Labour - Economy (similar to Tories), Welfare (similar to Tories), Public Services (similar to Tories)
Economy -
- Foundation hospitals - gave managers more independent and power to set contracts and borrow money
- Academies - business can sponsor failing schools
- Universities - tuition fees
- Bank of England - monetary policy
Welfare -
- Similar to the welfare state - no rights without responsibilities - equality of outcome became equality of opportunity and reap the rewards of the free market and workfare programmes tried to reduce unemployment by providing work experience, further education and training, and made work more attractive by offering a minimum wage (minimum Wage Act 1998) and tax credits to help make work more attractive.
- Argued to have used stealth taxes, such as raising taxes on national insurance rates and on the payments made to companies that paid investors. 1997 Windfall tax was a £5 billion tax on the privatised utilities.
Public Services -
- Initially tried to stick to Conservative plans, but this was dumped with healthcare spending doubling between 1999 and 2010 with 85,000 more nurses, 32,000 doctors, 14,000 more police, 36,000 more teachers and 274,000 support staff, with funding doubled.
New Labour policies - difference to Conservatives
Human Rights -
- Passed a number of laws, such as lifting the ban on gay people serving, Civil Partnership Act (2004), Local Government Act (2006) repealed section 28, Sexual Offences Act (2000) equalised age of consent for gay couples, Gender Recognition Act, Equality Employment Act
Authoritarian approach to civil liberties -
- Human Rights Act and Freedom of Information Act
- Introduced anti-terror laws - Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act (2001) and this allowed indefinite detention without trial for non-British nationals suspected of committing terrorist offenders, prevention of Terrorist Act in 2005, allowing the Home Secretary to control orders on anyone suspected of terrorist related activities, and the Identity Cards Act 2006, introduced new identity cards, linked to a national database allowed to hold 50 categories of information.
Foreign policies -
- Left wing members had long been critical of the EU, but they instead favoured European integration under Blair and followed the Lisbon treaty but did not adopt the Euro. Doubled funding for overseas aid and focused on humanitarian intervention and should uphold human rights internationally using the military, worked with Bush and supported controversial laws that greatly divided the party. More internationalist.
Constitutional reform -
- Human Rights, Devolution, Modernisation of political institutions, Greater democracy
2019 Labour Manifesto Policies
Green Industrial Revolution -
- Create 1 million jobs in the UK to transform the industry, energy, transport, agriculture and our buildings while restoring nature.
- Prioritise sustainability.
- Integrated Transport Systems.
- National Transformation Fund of £400 billion
- Prohibit foxhunting and the end of the cull of badgers.
Rebuilding public services -
- Universal public services provided through general taxation and free at the point of use for all, increasing the tax payment for those earning more than 80,000 a year
- NHS and Social care - Repair the health services by refilling the vacancies (100,000) but ending privatisation and funding cuts - increased investment
- National Education Service - provide free education, prioritise all types of learning, skill and knowledge including technical, vocational academic and creative - abolish tuition fees and bring back maintenance grants
- Police and communities - invest in police and address causes of crime
- Justice - break cycles of recidivism of poverty inequality and crime
- Community and local authority - reverse austerity for local government and aim to restore council spending powers to 2010 levels
- Fire - reopen fire stations and restore jobs to help improve response times
- Digital - free full fibre broadband by 2030
- Culture - expand careers in this industry
- Media - preserve the future of broadcasting companies and free TV licences for over 75s
- Sport - changes to football management, curb gambling advertisement in sports, preserve civic societies
2019 Labour Manifesto cont.
Tackling poverty and inequality -
- Work - work should provide a decent life for all, guaranteeing not just dignity and respect in the workplace but also income and leisure time to allow for a fulfilling life outside of it
- Tackle structural causes of in-work-poverty - Living Wage of £10 per hour and cap the amount that can be paid in overdraft fees or interest; flexible working, statutory maternity pay from 9-12 months, 4 week paternity leave
- 32 weeks of working hours, enforcement of worker’s rights through a Worker’s Protection Agency and Labour Courts
- Women and equalities - Labour is the party of equality, committed to achieving a world free from all forms of bigotry and discrimination, whether campaigning on the streets or passing legislation in government, Labour is the only party to stand for social justice - new Women and - Equalities department, full-time secretary of state, ratify Istanbul Convention on preventing domestic abuse, protect HRA and ECHR and the ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment at work
- Close the gender pay gap, end politics of hate, address systematic racism, ensures independence and equality for disabled people and update the Equality Act, national LGBT+ Action Plan, tackle the rough sleeping crisis in the UK, mandatory LGBT+ inclusive lessons and sex education
- Migration - Humane immigration system, end the hostile environment of the Windrush Scandal, stop deportation, follow human rights, meet the skills and labour shortages that exist in public services
- Social Security - same esteem as health and education systems - National Strategy for Childhood focusing on health, security, well-being and poverty and give effect to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Universal credit; will be scrapped and guarantee a minimum standard of living, stop benefit cap and two child limit and remove 300,000 people from poverty
- Pensions; correct injustices of women’s pension ages
- Housing; renewment of the 1945 commitment to a housing programme with maximum practical speed until every family in Britain has a good standard of accommodation, increased council housing and a new social house building programme, cap rent in line with inflation, solve homelessness
- Constitutional issues - repeal the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (2011), investment in devolved regions
2019 Labour Manifesto pt 3
The final say on Brexit -
- Give the people a final say with another public vote
- Ruled out a no deal brexit and remove Johnson’s deal
- A new deal to protect jobs, rights, and the environment. Avds and hard border in NI and to ensure no change in the status or sovereignty of Gibraltar
- A permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union, which is vital to protect our manufacturing industry and allows the UK to benefit from joint UK-EU trade deals, and is backed by businesses and trade unions.
- Close alignment with the Single Market – ensuring we have a strong future economic relationship with the EU that can support UK businesses.
- Dynamic alignment on workers’ rights, consumer rights and environmental protections so that UK standards keep pace across Europe as a minimum, allowing the UK to lead the way, not fall behind.
- Continued participation in EU agencies and funding programmes, including in such vital areas of co-operation as the environment, scientific research and culture.
- Clear commitments on future security arrangements, including access to the European Arrest Warrant and shared databases, making people safer at home and abroad.
A new internationalism -
- International peace and security as a primary objective of foreign policy
- Recognise and correct injectices of the past
- Reform international rules based order to secure justice and accountability for breaches of human right s
- Rebuild climate expertise and negotiate and deliver more ambitious targets
- Comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine with no military solution
- Lawful action to counter and confront all forms of terrorism
- Prevent conflict by investing in local capacities for peacebuilding in areas of conflict
- Increase funding for peacekeeping operations to £100 million
- Ensure all medicines developed with the support of uk taxpayer money are accessible to those in the global south
- Reject trade agreements that undermine labour standards or environmental protections
The 2019 Conservative manifesto
https://www.conservatives.com/our-plan
- Brexit - Get Brexit done
- NHS & Social Care - extra funding, 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more GP appointments a year (NHS failing, industrial action)
- Education - millions more invested every week into science, schools, apprenticeships and infrastructure while controlling debt (industrial action), strengthen academic freedom and strengthen global influence of higher education
- Support for working families
- Policing & Crime - 20,000 more police and tougher sentencing for criminals
- Immigration - an Australian style points-based system to control immigration
- Local communities & Housing - Levelling Up the North, fixed mortgage rates, more homes to local families and extend Right to Buy and Help to Buy schemes
- Transport & Infrastructure - industrial action, Northern Powerhouse Rail to connect Leeds, invest in the Midlands Rail Hub and upgrade bus, tram and train services to the level of London
- Business & Enterprise - Will not raise the rate of income tax, VAT or National Insurance (broken), expand start-up loans, encourage investment in physical building and equipment
- The strength of the Union - invest across the union, stand up or Northern Ireland to re-establish the Assembly (success), respect the independence referendum result for Scotland and protect democracy
- Defence - support our veterans and investing in the men and women of today’s armed forces, put national security first and promote the values of freedom and human rights
- The environment - Reaching net zero by 2050 with investment in clean energy solutions and green infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions and pollution
The Liberal Democrats - Key Facts
- Formed in 1988 after a merger of the Liberal Party and the
Social Democratic Party. - The Lib-Dems have third party status in the UK.
- They have never held power on their own and the closest they came was the coalition government of 2010-15 when Nick Clegg served as deputy prime minister under David Cameron.
- Whilst they they do have strong and consistent support from some they are often seen as a ‘protest vote’ party.
- Today the Lib-Dems are fundamentally a progressive centrist party with a strong commitment to Europe and the EU, a concern for constitutional reform, especially that of the voting system and an emphasis on human rights and freedoms. Many members also pursue green environmental policies.
