Liberal Democrats (UK)

In 1981, the Labor Party split, as a result of which part of the right wing formed its own party, called the Social Democratic Party . The new party did not enjoy widespread support in society and before the 1983 elections formed a coalition with the Liberal Party , which for a long time was one of the two largest political forces in the country, but lost its influence in the first half of the 20th century . In the first election for themselves, the Alliance of Liberals and Social Democrats, led by David Steele and Roy Jenkins, received 7,780,949 votes (25.4%), winning 23 seats in the House of Commons . In the previous elections, the liberals were able to hold only 11 deputies in parliament. At the time of formation, 29 deputies joined the Social Democratic Party, including one conservative parliamentarian. In 1984, the LP-SDP alliance took part in the elections to the European Parliament , but it was not able to get a single seat, although the coalition won 19% of the vote in England , Wales and Scotland . As a result of the 1987 election, the Alliance of Social Democrats and Liberals, led by D. Steele and David Owen, received fewer votes (7,341,651 or 22.6%), losing one seat in the House of Commons (22 seats). In the same year, the chairman of the Liberal Party, D. Steele, proposed combining the two parties.

On March 2, 1988, the Liberal and Social Democratic parties merged into the Party of Social and Liberal Democrats. In July 1988, by postal ballot, Paddy Ashdown was elected chairman of the Liberal Democrats Party. ^[1] In 1989, the party was renamed the Liberal Democrats Party. ^[2]

After the unification, the Party of Liberal Democrats experienced serious financial difficulties, as part of the members of both the Liberal and Social Democratic parties left for other parties. The new party had to take tough measures to save money. In the 1989 European Parliament elections , the party received 6% of the vote. ^[2] This was her worst result. The party’s rating was constantly decreasing and in 1989 reached the extreme point, then it was supported by 1% of voters. ^[3] But gradually, measures to restore the party’s popularity, undertaken by its leadership led by Paddy Ashdown, began to bear fruit. Already in 1990, liberal democrats won local elections in Eastbourne . The growing popularity of the Liberal Democrats Party is often associated with the successful 1992 annual Blackpool Party Conference. ^{[3] The} crisis in the Conservative Party also played a role in the growing popularity of libdem.

In their first national elections in 1992, the Liberal Democrats came forward with a manifesto called “Let's Change Britain for the Better.” ^[4] In these elections, 17.8% of voters voted for the Liberal Democrats and they received 20 seats in the lower house of parliament. ^[five]

In the 1997 national elections, the Liberal Democrats Party worked closely with the Labor Party. Also, this collaboration is called the "Labor-Liberal Concordat." ^[6] Both parties, in their election programs, advocated for a review of the electoral system in the UK, the devolution of political power, and the reform of the House of Lords . Also, an agreement was signed between the Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats to weaken joint criticism. In addition, during the election campaign, the chairman of the Liberal Democrats Party proposed a tactical voting mechanism. Its essence was that in some constituencies, Labor voters would cast their votes for candidates for the Liberal Democrats Party, which would prevent the conservatives from winning. ^[7]

On the eve of the 1997 parliamentary elections, the Liberal Democrats presented a manifest called “Let's Do It Differently.” ^[8] As a result, 16.7% of voters voted for the party and it doubled its representation in parliament compared to the 1992 elections, taking 46 seats. ^[five]

In 1999, Paddy Ashdown resigned. ^[9] Charles Kennedy becomes the new party chairman. At this time, the positions of liberal democrats and Labor on various issues began to diverge significantly. On the eve of the 2001 parliamentary elections, the Liberal Democrats presented a manifesto called Freedom, Justice, Honesty. ^[10] In these elections, 18.3% of voters voted for the Liberal Democrats, which allowed them to occupy 52 seats in parliament. ^[five]

In 2003, liberal democrats sharply criticized the military operations in Iraq .

In anticipation of the 2005 elections , the Liberal Democrats presented their manifesto, which was called the “Real Alternative”. ^[11] In these elections, 22% of voters voted for liberal Democrats and they took 62 seats in parliament. ^[five]

In 2006, due to alcohol problems, Charles Kennedy was forced to resign. ^[12] Menzies Campbell became the new chairman of the Liberal Democrats Party, who left office on October 15, 2007 . The reason for the resignation was the declining popularity of the party leader and the negative publications that appeared in the press regarding his age and party management. ^[13] On December 18, 2007, Nick Clegg was elected chairman of the Liberal Democrats Party. ^{[14] The} new leader stated that the main priorities for liberal democrats are: protecting civil rights , devolving political power, increasing funding for the health and education system , and protecting the environment . ^[15]

On the eve of the 2010 parliamentary elections, television debates were held for the first time in British history. In the first televised debates, based on opinion polls, Nick Clegg won. ^[16] In the second televised debate on April 20 , Nick Clagg lost his main rival, conservative leader David Cameron, 1% of the vote. ^[17] The election results for libdem were contradictory. The party managed to get 23.0% of the vote, which was more than in 2005, but in the House of Commons it took only 57 seats, 5 less than before. But since, according to the election results, not a single party won an absolute majority (more than half) of the seats in the House of Commons, for the first time in their history, libdemians had a chance to join the government . ^[18]

On May 8, 2010, after a meeting of members of the Liberal Democratic Party, it was announced that Nick Clegg’s strategy for negotiating a coalition primarily with conservatives received “full support” from the faction ^[19] . May 12, 2010, for the first time in the post-war history of Britain, a coalition government was formed; Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg took over as deputy prime minister. ^{[20] [21]} In total, libdemians took 5 out of 29 seats in the Cabinet of Ministers of David Cameron . ^[22]

September 4, 2012 D. Cameron made a reshuffle in the government, as a result of which libdemes received 6 out of 32 seats. ^[23]

Participation in a government coalition with conservatives and their violation of election obligations (in particular, not raising fees for higher education) negatively affected the support of liberal democrats. Following the 2015 parliamentary elections, the party lost most of its seats in the House of Commons, and party leader Nick Clegg resigned ^[24] .

In June 2017, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Great Britain, Tim Farron, announced his resignation. According to him, it became impossible for him to be both a Christian believer and a party leader ^[25] .

In their 2010 election manifesto, liberal democrats identified 4 priority aspects of their policies. Firstly, the Party of Liberal Democrats advocates for a wide tax cut, in particular for the abolition of income tax for the first 10,000 pounds earned. Secondly, liberal democrats are in favor of job creation. The third aspect is to improve the quality of school education and increase investment in schools. Fourth, liberal democrats advocate the elimination of corruption among members of parliament, the protection of civil rights, and the revision of the electoral system in the House of Commons and Lords. Liberal Democrats also advocate for the speedy stabilization of the economy and for increased economic growth. In addition, the Liberal Democrats Party advocates for the protection of the environment, the development of green technologies in production, the fight against global warming, as well as the development of public transport and increased control over emigration. ^[26]

• 1988 - David Steel ;
• 1988-1999 - Paddy Ashdown ;
• 1999-2006 - Charles Peter Kennedy ;
• 2006-2007 - Menzies Campbell ;
• 2007—2015 - Nick Clegg ;
• 2015—2017 ^[27] - .
• 2017-present - Vince Cable

Legislative Election

• 1992 elections - 5,999,384 votes, 22 mandates
• 1997 elections - 5,242,947 votes, 46 seats
• 2001 elections - 4,814,321 votes, 52 seats
• 2005 elections - 5,981,874 votes, 62 mandates
• 2010 elections - 6,827,938 votes, 57 seats
• 2015 elections - 2,415,888 votes, 8 seats
• 2017 elections - 2,371,772 votes, 12 mandates

European Elections

• Elections of 1989 - 986,292 votes, 0 seats
• 1994 elections - 2,552,730 votes, 2 seats
• 1999 elections - 1,266,549 votes, 10 seats
• 2004 elections - 2,452,327 votes, 12 seats
• 2009 Elections - 2,080,613 votes, 11 seats
• 2014 Elections - 1,087,633, 1st Place

• 1992 Election - Let's Change Britain for the Better
• 1997 Elections - “Let's Do It Differently”
• 2001 Elections - “Freedom, Justice, Honesty”
• 2005 Elections - “The Real Alternative”
• 2010 Elections - Liberal Democrats Manifesto 2010

• Official site
• History of the Liberal Democrats Party
• [one]
• Gromyko A. A. Modernization of the British party system. M., 2007.P. 67
• [Frolov V. P. Liberal Democrats of Great Britain in the elections in 1988-1991: Hope for a revival? Magadan, 2000]
• [2]
• [3]
• [four]
• [Holmes A. Devolution, Coalitions and the Liberal Democrats: Necessary Evil or Progressive Politics? // Parliamentary Affairs 05/12/2007 http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/60/4/527 ]
• [Frolov V. P. The Liberal Democrats in the Parliamentary Elections: Program Attitudes, Strategies, Voters. Magadan, 2003]
• [five]
• [6]
• [7]
• [eight]
• [9]
• Democrat Manifesto 2010 (link not available)