When was liberal democrats last in power

Liberal Democrat Newswire: monthly newsletter Polling UnPacked political opinion polling news : max 1 email per day Mark Pack blog posts and council by-election results: max 1 email per day Lib Dem news from www. If you submit this form, your data will be used in line with the privacy policy here to update you on the topic s selected.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Enter Email Confirm Email. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.

This site uses cookies, including to personalise ads. This affects, most clearly, the institutions of government, including public services, which function more effectively when those who use them, not just those who deliver them, are involved in decision-making. Our belief in the dispersal of power also affects many other aspects of modern life, including access to justice, corporate governance including the rights of employees and shareholders and the obligations of companies to local communities , and the distribution of media ownership.

Every individual should have the right and the opportunity to challenge the excessive concentration of power, and the abuse of power, whoever or whatever it derives from. There is no general answer to the question of how much government intervention is enough, or how big the state should be. This is because of the need to deal both with market failure and with government failure, and because the appropriate level of state involvement, and the size of the state, varies so widely over time and across areas of activity.

Since Liberal Democrats believe in the worth of every individual, we are internationalists from principle, rather than nationalists who define their nation or race in opposition to others and thrive on division and intolerance. We are also internationalists for good pragmatic reasons, because some goals are too big for nation-states to achieve on their own: guaranteeing peace and security, limiting climate change and promoting a healthy environment, standing up to corporate power and spreading prosperity around the world.

This is why we have always supported, and will continue to champion, the European project, not least because it has brought peace to a continent that has historically been wracked by war. We also argue for effective international institutions, such as the United Nations and its agencies. Our belief in the empowerment of individuals is not limited to the current generation; future generations have the same rights as we do to live their lives in the ways they choose. Climate change, pollution and the degradation of the natural environment pose some of the greatest threats to the well-being and freedom of future generations — and, increasingly, to our own lives — that modern society has ever seen.

We recognise, of course, that some of the beliefs described above can conflict with others. To what extent should government interfere in the rights of employers in order to protect the rights of their employees?

When does government action to reduce inequality cease to be liberating and start to be unjust? There is no general answer to these questions; it depends on the particular circumstances of any given case. The resolution of these conflicts is the proper role of politics. So how we do our politics — our style and approach — is just as important as are our beliefs and values. This is why political parties feel very different from one another even when they support the same policies.

It looks at what the Lib Dems achieved in the coalitoin government betweeen and Like to know more about the Lib Dems? This may including using this data to contact you via a variety of digital channels.

Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. While I agree with the sentiment of the Liberal opening sentence, it is too long. Too long to be memorable and too long for too many readers in the UK. So for the sake of the party, please simplify it and everything else. The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society. One that balances the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community.

Where no one is a slave to poverty, ignorance or conformity. This says exactly the same thing, in the same order. But the more important point is it now has a Grade 6 reading score. This means it is better than Plain English. It is easy to read, conversational English.

In other words, ordinary people will understand it. Please, please stop writing for wonks. People are busy. Make it as simple as possible — and give them memorable phrases. They are more likely to remember them and share them. In effect, they will become your supporters. PS: This post has a Grade 4 readability score. Well said, Mr Sayer!

Relevant, punchy, and spot-on. Anyone who skimmed over it, read it again, carefully, and take it to your heart and head. The link to this chart can be found under the 'UK Election ' text on the navigation menu on the Political Compass website. Left of Labour? The shift in the political direction of Labour was initiated in the s but accelerated in response to the party's fourth consecutive election defeat in Since the election of Tony Blair, the New Labour hierarchy have deliberately courted Conservative voters and even Conservative politicians on the basis that if they take the centre ground from the other parties, they gain power.

In part they are able to do this because their own voters have nowhere to turn to the left of New Labour. Thus in recent years the Lib Dems have tried to a degree to accommodate these people, by adopting or at least making public, more social liberal policies.

This approach has been successful to some degree. In September , however, there was a discussion at the Lib Dems conference as to whether the social liberal ideals have taken them as far as they can go, and whether they should now move back to the right in order to court Conservative voters. Proponents of a move to the right argue that left-wing policies could see the Lib Dems losing marginal seats to the Conservatives, seats which are vital if the Lib Dems wish to become the new 'official' opposition to any future Labour government.

Opponents argue that the Lib Dems can unite the anti-Conservative vote in such marginal constituencies, and moving to the right risks losing other marginals in urban areas to the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru.

They claim also that any move to the right could harm the Lib Dems in local elections, especially with the recent notable successes of the Greens. They also argue that a move to the right could lead not just to a loss of Lib Dem vote share, but also to a depressing of total turnout. Policies The Liberal Democrats' constitution speaks of "a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.

We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals". To this end: They support civil liberties, and have opposed the more authoritarian of Labour's anti-terror laws e.

They support more open government, including substantial reforms to increase parliamentary oversight of the executive. They are federalists and support the decentralisation of power to the lowest possible level. They support "free education for all" and propose to abolish university tuition fees and set up a system of Government grants for university students. They propose a substantial non-means tested increase in pensions. They support anti-discrimination laws.

They are in favour of introducing a local income tax in place of the current council tax, which is collected based on the value of the taxpayer's house in They are in favour of full UK participation in the European Union and an early referendum on joining the Euro.

They are in favour of proportional representation for elections to the House of Commons , preferably by the STV system. They are in favour of abolishing the House of Lords and replacing it with an elected chamber. Furthermore they would equip the police with new technology to tackle crime and cut time spent on paperwork.

They oppose the British national identity card. They support the use of biometrics in passports only, but the database behind these passports would carry only the information on the passport plus the biometric match. They would establish a National Border Agency, bringing together officers from immigration, the police and customs, whose responsibilities currently overlap.

This agency would deal with cross border crime, illegal immigration, terrorism and fraud. They oppose the "protectionist labour market restrictions" imposed by many European governments on legal migrants from the new EU member states. They would cut down on illegal working by inspecting employers and bringing prosecutions against those who use illegal labour.

The most well-known Liberal Democrat policy for most of the s was to increase the basic rate of income tax by one percent to fund public services especially education. This proposal was recently abandoned after Tony Blair 's Labour government increased national insurance contributions by the same amount, a policy with much the same effect.

In the Liberal Democrats started to make their long-held pledge to abolish Council Tax a centrepiece of their campaign. The Liberal Democrats opposed UK participation in the Iraq war prior to the conflict, but stated that they would support UK forces that had been ordered to fight while it was taking place.

After the initial military action was completed, they renewed their political opposition. The period after saw an internal discussion about the right policies for the party on economics and public spending, with some party members advocating that the party position itself as a defender of the traditional welfare state in order to gain support from those who had previously voted Labour.

Others, most notably David Laws, advocated a policy of smaller government and laissez-faire the " Orange Book" published in was an example of this wing of the Liberal discussion.

The party announced its policy of abolishing the Department for Trade and Industry in Proportional representation Unlike the other main political parties in the United Kingdom, the Lib Dems have always strongly advocated Proportional representation.